THE  GREEKS 
IN  AMERICA 

.  P.  XENIDES 


THE   GREEKS 
IN  AMERICA 

J.  P.  XENIDES 


THE  GREEKS 
IN  AMERICA 


BY 

J.  P.  XENIDES 

LATE     OF     ANATOLIA     COLLEGE     AND     THEOLOGICAL 

SEMINARY,   MARSOVAN,  ASIA  MINOR,  AND  SEC- 

BETABY     GREEK     RELIEF     COMMITTEE, 

NEW  YORK 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

CHARLES  HATCH  SEARS 


NEW  SP  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,     1922, 
BY   GEORGE    H.    DORAN    COMPANY 


THE    GREEKS    IN   AMERICA.       II 


PRINTED    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


INTRODUCTION 

The  New  American  Series  consists  of  studies  of 
the  following  racial  groups,  together  with  a  study 
of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Churches : 

Albanian  and  Bulgarian,  Armenian  and  Assyrian- 
Chaldean,  Czecho-Slovak,  Greek,  Italian,  Jewish, 
Jugo-Slav  (Croatian,  Servian,  Slovenian),  Magyar, 
Polish,  Kussian  and  Buthenian,  or  Ukrainian,  Span 
ish  (Spaniards)  and  Portuguese,  Syrian. 

These  studies,  made  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement,  were  undertaken  to 
show,  in  brief  outline,  the  social,  economic  and  re 
ligious  background,  European  or  Asiatic,  of  each 
group  and  to  present  the  experience — social,  eco 
nomic  and  religious — of  the  particular  group  in 
America,  with  special  reference  to  the  contact  of 
the  given  people  with  religious  institutions  in 
America. 

It  was  designed  that  the  studies  should  be  sympa 
thetic  but  critical. 

It  is  confidently  believed  that  this  series  will  help 
America  to  appreciate  and  appropriate  the  spiritual 
wealth  represented  by  the  vast  body  of  New  Ameri 
cans,  each  group  having  its  own  peculiar  heritage 
and  potentialities ;  and  will  lead  Christian  America, 
so  far  as  she  will  read  them,  to  become  a  better  lover 
of  mankind. 

The  writer,  in  each  case,  is  a  kinsman  or  has  had 
direct  and  intimate  relationship  with  the  people,  or 
group  of  peoples,  presented.  First  hand  knowledge 
and  the  ability  to  study  and  write  from  a  deeply 


Ti  INTRODUCTION 

sympathetic  and  broadly  Christian  viewpoint  were 
primary  conditions  in  the  selection  of  the  authors. 

The  author  of  this  volume,  Eev.  J.  P.  Xenides,  was 
born  of  Greek  parents  in  Caesarea,  Asia  Minor.  His 
preparatory  education  was  obtained  in  Asia  Minor 
and  Greece,  his  college  course  in  Marsovan  and  his 
theological  training  at  New  College,  Edinburgh.  He 
taught  for  20  years  in  Anatolia  College  and  Marso 
van  Theological  Seminary.  He  has  traveled  exten 
sively  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  He  is  secretary 
of  the  Greek  Eelief  Committee  in  New  York.  His 
nationality,  education  and  work  peculiarly  fit  him 
to  write  this  book. 

These  manuscripts  were  published  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  with 
the  cooperative  aid  of  various  denominational 
boards,  through  the  Home  Missions  Council  of  Amer 
ica,  and  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions. 

At  this  writing  arrangements  have  been  made  for 
the  publication  of  only  six  of  the  Series,  namely: 
Czecho-Slovak,  Greek,  Italian,  Magyar,  Polish  and 
Eussian,  but  other  manuscripts  will  be  published  as 
soon  as  funds  or  advance  orders  are  secured. 

A  patient  review  of  all  manuscripts,  together  with 
a  checking  up  of  facts  and  figures,  has  been  made 
by  the  Associate  Editor,  Dr.  Frederic  A.  Gould,  to 
whom  we  are  largely  indebted  for  statistical  and 
verbal  accuracy.  The  editor  is  responsible  for  the 
general  plan  and  scope  of  the  studies  and  for  ques 
tions  of  policy  in  the  execution  of  this  work. 

CHARLES  HATCH  SEAES. 


PREFACE 

The  subject  of  the  present  study  is  one  dear  to 
the  writer's  heart,  and  on  which  he  has  been  brood 
ing  for  years.  Many  statements  express  the  out 
come  of  his  long  experience  as  an  educator  and 
worker  in  the  Greek  Field  in  Asia  Minor,  Greece  and 
the  United  States. 

Valuable  information  was  obtained  from  personal 
interviews  and  discussion  of  the  topics  treated  here 
with  prominent  clergymen  and  laymen  in  the  Greek 
communities  in  the  United  States.  Among  them, 
he  would  mention  Archbishop  Meletis  of  Athens; 
Bishop  Alexander  Kodostolou  of  New  York ;  Eev.  J. 
Alexopoulos  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. ;  Prof.  Carrol  Brown 
of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York;  Prof. 
Theodore  Ion,  attorney  and  member  of  the  Hellenic 
American  Society,  New  York  City;  Mr.  Frank  W. 
Jackson,  attorney  and  chairman  of  the  Belief  Com 
mittee  for  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor;  Bev.  Thos.  Lacey 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Prof.  A.  E.  Phoutrides  of  Har 
vard  University;  Bev.  D.  Callimahos  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.;  M.  Geo.  Caranicholas,  New  York  City;  Dr. 
B.  Demos  of  Harvard;  Dr.  S.  I.  Paul,  Springfield, 
Mass.;  representatives  of  the  prominent  Greek 
papers,  especially  Atlantis  and  National  Herald,  and 
many  other  friends  and  acquaintances. 

As  a  speaker  of  the  Near  East  Belief,  the  writer 
visited  several  of  the  outstanding  Greek  communi 
ties  of  the  country,  such  as  Boston,  Lowell,  Haver- 
hill,  Springfield,  Holyoke,  and  Pittsfield,  Mass.; 
Newark,  Trenton,  and  Orange,  N.  J. ;  Albany,  Troy, 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

Sclienectady,  Utica,  Syracuse,  Rochester,  and  Buf 
falo,  N.  Y.;  Erie,  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia,  and  S. 
Bethlehem,  Pa.;  Washington,  D.  G.;  Canton,  Cleve 
land,  Toledo,  and  Youngstown,  Ohio;  Detroit  and 
Ann  Arbor,  Mich. ;  and  Chicago,  111.  Local  matters 
were  observed  and  leaders  interviewed  at  each  place. 

Questionnaires  were  sent  out  in  the  spring  of  1920 
to  all  the  Priests,  Greek  Protestant  pastors  and 
other  prominent  Orthodox  leaders  in  different  parts 
of  America.  Those  who  responded  to  the  request 
supplied  valuable,  suggestive  and  informing  ma 
terial. 

Among  the  various  books  and  articles  consulted, 
the  following  should  be  mentioned  with  grateful  ac 
knowledgment  :  Hellenism,  or  Greeks  m  America,  by 
S.  G.  Canoutas,  New  York;  Greek  Immigration,  by 
Prof.  H.  P.  Fair  child,  of  N.  Y.  University ;  Greeks  in 
America,  by  Eev.  Thomas  Burgess.  Much  valuable 
information  was  derived  from  the  Atlantis  and 
National  Herald,  as  both  give  daily  important  and 
interesting  news  about  the  Greeks  in  America. 

The  writer  would  take  this  opportunity  to  thank 
warmly  all  the  friends  who  gave  time  and  attention 
to  answering  his  questions  and  giving  valuable  help. 
He  begs  specially  to  thank  Eev.  Thos.  Burgess  of 
New  York,  who  kindly  read  the  manuscript  and 
made  many  helpful  and  valuable  suggestions.  The 
present  work  was  prepared  in  the  spring  of  1920 
for  the  Interchurch  World  Movement.  Owing  to  the 
discontinuance  of  that  organization,  its  printing  was 
delayed.  Meanwhile — between  the  summer  of  1920 
and  the  end  of  1921 — such  significant  events  took 
place  in  Greece  and  the  Near  East  as  to  affect 
greatly  conditions  in  the  Greek  communities  in 
America.  Under  the  pressure  of  other  duties  the 
writer  revised  a  number  of  paragraphs  and  added 
some  new  material  to  meet  and  explain  the  new  con 
ditions  and  changes. 


PREFACE  ix 

The  work  is  incomplete  and  sketchy,  as  there  was 
no  time  to  make  a  complete  survey  of  the  entire  field 
and  all  did  not  answer  the  questionnaire.  Still  the 
ground  covered  is  representative  of  the  whole  field 
and  throws  light  on  the  entire  subject  under  discus 
sion. 

J.  P.  X. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND:    .       .      ;..      .  15 

History  and  Racial  Relationship  ...  15 

Present  Political  Situation  ....  23 
Political  Conditions  in  the  Near  East  as 

Affecting  Emigration  from  America  .  30 
Political  Conditions  as  Inviting  Unrest  in 

America  ........  30 

Economic  Conditions 31 

Social  Conditions 41 

Recreation 46 

Moral  Standards  ......  47 

Leadership .  .  53 

Religious  Conditions 54 

II    THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA:  .       ...  73 

Immigration .73 

Return  Movement  to  Greece  ....  77 

Economic  Conditions       .        .     x .        .        .  80 

Standard  of  Living  and  Wages     ...  84 

Unrest        .      - 87 

III    THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA:  .       .       .       .  88 

Social  Conditions     ,       ••     ,•       .       .       .  88 

Recreation 88 

Family  Life 91 

Relation  to  Other  Racial  Groups  .               .  94 
Relation  to  American  People,  Ideals,  Insti 
tutions,  etc. 96 

Social  Organizations  and  Forces   . 

Educational  Forces  .  .  .  107 
Forces  of  Assimilation  .  ... 

Results  as  Reflected  in  War  Service     .       .  115 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAaE 

IV    THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA:  .       ...  118 

Greek  Churches        .       .              .       .       .  118 

Forms  of  Religious  Approach       .       .       .  132 
Evangelical  Work  Among  the  Greeks  by 

Protestant  Churches 133 

Literature         .       .       .       .       .       .       .136 

V    GREEKS  IN  AMERICA: 139 

Special  Problems 139 

Recommendations 145 

APPENDICES 

I    Greek  Newspapers  in  the  United  States  153 

II    Bibliography 154 

INDEX  159 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Chapter  I 
EUKOPEAN  BACKGKOUND 

HISTORY  AND  RACIAL  RELATIONSHIP 

Greeks  and  greater  Greece. — The  Greeks  call 
themselves  Hellenes  and  their  country  Hellas.  They 
belong  to  the  Aryan  or  Indo-European  group  of 
nations  and  have  inhabited  more  than  3000  years  the 
Grecian  Peninsula  and  the  islands  surrounding  it. 
Hellas  was  wherever  Greeks  lived.  So  there  was 
and  is  to-day  a  greater  Greece  extending  to  Mace 
donia,  Thrace  and  Western  Asia  Minor,  character 
istically  Greek,  from  time  immemorial,  in  language, 
customs,  manners,  religion  and  folklore. 

Greek  colonies. — The  Greeks,  like  the  Phoenicians 
of  old,  and  the  British  in  modern  times,  were  a  sea 
faring,  trading  and  colonizing  people.  Since  the 
sixth  century  B.  C.,  there  have  been  Greek  colonies 
all  along  the  coasts  of  the  Bosphorus  and  the  ^Egean, 
Marmora  and  Black  Seas,  which  regions  continue 
to  be  Greek  in  character,  speech  and  influence. 

Spread  of  Greek  Influence. — Greek  influence  and 
colonization  were  further  spread  through  the  ex^ 
pedition  of  Alexander  the  Great  (334-323  B.  C.)  into 
Asia  Minor  and  the  further  East,  comprising  the 
whole  Persian  Empire.  Alexander's  policy  to  bring 
the  East  into  relationship  with  the  West  was  effec 
tively  continued  by  his  successors,  especially  the 

15 


GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 


Seleucidae  in  Syria  and  the  Ptolemies  in  Egypt. 
Thus  wider  areas  came  under  the  spell  of  Hellenism 
in  Asia  and  many  different  races  and  people  were 
Hellenized. 

Connections   between  the   ancient   and   modern 
Greece. — There  has  been  much  valuable  time  and 
space  wasted  with  discussions  as  to  the  physical 
descent  of  the  modern,  from  the  ancient  Greeks,  or 
the    connection    between    them.     The    Greek    race 
has    never    ceased    to    exist    in    history,    so    that 
there    must    at    least    be    some    descendants    of 
the   ancient,   among  the  modern  Greeks.    And  it 
is   equally  true   that   many   races   and  people   in 
Asia  Minor  and  elsewhere  have  been  thoroughly 
assimilated  and  Hellenized.    All  the  people  bearing 
the  name  of  Greek  at  present  are  imbued  with  the 
same  national  consciousness,  and  cherish  the  same 
national  ideals.    They  are  Hellenic  in  speech,  man 
ners,  customs,  religion,  folklore,  and  temperament. 
The  modern  Greeks  present  the  same  traits  and 
characters,  intellectual  and  moral,  as  characterized 
the  ancient.    l '  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  spiritually 
the  modern  Greeks  are  the  direct  inheritors  of  the 
ancients.     A  familiarity  with  the  modern  people 
brings  countless  illustrations  of  the  similarity  of 
thought  and  character  between  the  old  and  the  new" 
(Professor  H.  P.  Fairchild).    "In  the  Greeks  who 
seek  our  shores  and  those  of  whom  Homer  sang 
or  whom  Aristophanes  caricatured,  there  is  the  same 
alertness  of  mind,  inventiveness  and  plausibility,  the 
same  liveliness  of  disposition,  the  same  courtesy  and 
hospitality  to  strangers,  the  same  capacity  for  self- 
sacrifice,  the  same  love  of  adventure  and  readiness 
to  take  a  chance,  the  same  delight  in  haggling  over 
a  bargain,  and  the  same  proneness  to  disputation 
often  running  into  dissension' '  (Professor  William 
Cole,    Immigrant    Races    in    Massachusetts:    The 
Greeks). 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  17 

Romans  spread  Hellenism. — As  students  of  his 
tory  know,  though  Kome  conquered  Greece  physi 
cally,  she  was  conquered  by  her  captive  intellectu 
ally — "the  captured  took  captives  of  their  captors. " 
The  Romans  spread  Greek  ideas,  language  and  civi 
lization  far  and  wide  as  missionaries  of  Greek  cul 
ture.  It  is  indeed  remarkable  how  the  Eastern  Ro 
man,  or  Byzantine,  Empire  was  thoroughly  Hellen- 
ized,  became  Greek  in  reality,  though  continuing 
Roman  in  name.  Its  long  rule  of  1,000  years  con 
stitutes  one  of  the  most  significant  periods  of  Gre 
cian  history.  In  order  to  understand  the  modern 
Greek  in  his  church  and  theology,  customs  and  su 
perstition,  we  must  study  the  Byzantine  history. 
The  modern  Greek  church  is  a  fine  picture  of  Byzan 
tine  times — especially  in  architecture,  painting,  rit 
ual  and  religious  ideas  and  usages. 

Fall  of  Constantinople. — During  the  Dark  Ages 
Constantinople  was  the  main  center  of  learning,  edu 
cation,  and  Hellenic  civilization.  It  is  needless  to 
remind  the  reader  of  the  connection  between  the 
Fall  of  Constantinople  (1453  A.  D.)  and  the  Renais 
sance  or  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe. 

Turkish  conquest  and  oppression. — Through  the 
Turkish  invasion  into  Greek  Territories,  especially 
the  conquest  of  Constantinople  (1453  A.D.)  there 
begins  the  real  Dark  Ages  of  Hellenism.  For  four 
centuries,  or  more,  the  Greeks  were  subjected  to 
untold  oppression  and  persecution.  The  Turkish 
rule  in  Greek  territories — in  fact,  wherever  the 
Turk  set  his  foot — meant  age-long  slavery,  torture 
and  martyrdom.  Still  in  the  midst  of  all  the  op 
pression  and  tyranny  the  Greeks  kept  the  torch 
of  Hellenic  culture  and  Christian  civilization  burn 
ing,  even  though  dimly,  thus  keeping  alive  the  wit 
ness  for  truth.  It  is  indeed  a  matter  of  real  wonder 
that  Hellenism  and  Christianity  were  not  wiped  out 
entirely  under  Moslem  tyranny.  Though  weakened, 


18  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

crippled,  and  even  amputated  in  many  parts,  the 
church  continued  in  life  steadfastly  and  persever- 
ingly,  and  through  the  church  there  survived  the  Hel 
lenic  people  and  ideas  also. 

War  of  Greek  Independence. — As  it  was  in  the 
ark  of  the  church  that  the  Greek  nation  was  pre 
served  and  kept  alive,  so  it  was  through  the  repre 
sentatives  of  the  church  that  the  banner  of  freedom 
was  unfurled  and  the  "War  of  Greek  Independence 
started,  March  25  (0.  S.),  1821  A.D.*  For  seven 
years  (1821-27)  the  Greek  people  were  engaged  in 
an  unequal  struggle  against  the  unscrupulous  hordes 
of  Turks  (in  Turkey)  who  were  still  quite  able  to 
inflict  vengeance  and  death  on  the  adventurous 
Greeks  who  dared  to  rise  against  the  Sultan.  The 
Greek  Patriarch,  as  the  head  of  the  Greek  people, 
was  hanged  at  one  of  the  gates  of  the  Patriarchate 
at  Phanar,  Constantinople,  which  gate  continues 
closed  to  the  present  day,  and  will  be  opened  only 
when  the  Greek  race  is  emancipated  from  the  for 
eign  yoke.  Many  bishops  and  other  clergymen  were 
executed  also. 

A  fit  parallel  to  the  modern  Armenian  massacres, 
— Greeks  were  massacred  in  many  places,  including 
women  and  children.  The  massacres  on  the  island 
of  Chios  (1822)  were  among  the  darkest  of  such 
outrages.  Almost  all  the  Greeks  on  the  island  were 
either  killed  or  sold  into  slavery.  Comparatively 
few  escaped.  The  Greeks  fought  valiantly  through 
out  the  revolutionary  period  of  seven  years.  In  the 
first  three  years  it  seemed  as  if  Greece  had  won.  In 
three  months  the  Turk  was  driven  out  of  Pelopon 
nesus  and  a  provisional  government  established. 
The  great  fleet  swept  clean  the  seas,  and  everywhere 
brilliant  deeds  of  Greek  valor  were  recorded.  But 
the  weakened  Sultan  called  in  the  aid  of  his  vassal, 

*0n  the  Day  of  Annunciation.  This  day  continued  to  be  the 
Greek  Independence  Day. 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  19 

Ibrahim  Pasha  of  Egypt,  who  boasted  he  would  re 
duce  the  whole  of  Peloponnesus  into  an  Arabian  des 
ert,  which  he  almost  succeeded  in  doing.  But  Greece 
was  destined  to  live.  Her  day  of  deliverance  came 
at  last.  The  admirals  of  Britain,  France,  and  Kus- 
sia  burned  the  Turkish  fleet  at  Navarino,  1827  A.D., 
and  proclaimed  Greece  free  and  independent.  This 
was  formally  confirmed  by  the  Treaty  of  Adrianople 
in  1828,  after  Turkish  defeat  by  Eussia. 

Small  size  of  Greece  handicapped  progress. — Un 
fortunately  only  a  small  portion  of  Greek  Territory 
was  set  free,  consisting  of  Peloponnesus  and  the 
mainland  of  Greece  to  the  south  of  Thessaly.  Al 
though  the  Greeks  kept  under  the  Turkish  yoke,  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  revolution,  they  were  ex 
cluded  from  joining  the  new  State  owing  to  the  self 
ish  intrigues  of  certain  European  Powers,  especially 
because  of  the  opposition  of  Austria  and  the  Holy 
Alliance,  Greece  was  kept  within  impossibly  narrow 
boundaries,  thus  being  condemned  from  the  very 
start  to  economic  struggles  and  hardships,  even  fore 
boding  failure.  After  the  assassination  of  Capo 
d'Istrias,  the  first  President  of  Greece,  Prince 
Otho,  the  son  of  the  King  of  Bavaria,  was  put  at 
the  head  of  the  kingdom.  It  had  a  population  of 
but  650,000.  A  monarchy  was  established  with  all 
the  consequent  expenses  of  a  royal  court,  a  host  of 
officials  at  home,  and  ambassadors  and  ministers 
abroad.  The  resources  of  the  country  were  limited. 
The  portions  constituting  the  new  state,  especially 
Peloponnesus,  consists  of  isolated  mountains  which 
divide  the  country  as  it  was  in  its  ancient  history, 
into  small  separate  city  states.  To  add  further 
handicaps  there  were  no  means  of  communication 
and  transportation  in  the  country. 

National  aspiration  continued. — Such  difficulties, 
however,  did  not  discourage  the  Greek  people.  The 
national  aspiration  for  the  ultimate  emancipation 


20  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  Greek  race  continued  to  inspire  the  Greeks 
everywhere.  Thus  we  have  a  chronic  state  of  rest 
lessness  and  a  series  of  uprisings  among  the  Greeks, 
kept  under  Turkish  rule — especially  in  Crete  and 
Macedonia.  Every  such  movement  drove  hosts  of 
refugees  into  Greece.  The  care  and  sheltering  of 
these  refugees  added  greatly  to  the  burdens  and  ex 
penses  of  the  treasury,  creating  at  the  same  time 
feelings  of  indignation  and  protest  among  the  peo 
ple,  thus  threatening  all  the  time  the  outbreak  of 
war. 

Change  of  dynasty.— The  autocratic  rule  of  Otho 
caused  another  Revolution  in  1862  and  he  was  forced 
to  abdicate.  He  was  replaced  by  the  second  son  of 
the  King  of  Denmark,  who  became  George  I.  Eng 
land,  which  since  1815,  had  kept  possession  of  the 
Ionian  Islands  (Corfu,  Leukas,  Cephalonia,  Ithaca, 
and  Zante),  returned  them  to  Greece  in  1863.  The 
new  constitution  of  1864  had  established  a  parlia 
mentary  regime  with  a  single  assembly  elected  by 
universal  suffrage. 

Union  of  Thessaly. — Thessaly  was  united  with 
Greece  in  1882,  although  promised  along  with  Epirus 
at  the  Berlin  Conference,  in  1878,  at  the  end  of  the 
Eusso-Turkish  War.  Epirus,  however,  was  kept 
under  the  Turkish  yoke  and  was  delivered  at  last  in 
part  at  the  Balkan  War,  in  1913,  the  fate  of  North 
ern  Epirus  still  remaining  unsettled  even  after  the 
Great  War. 

Greco-Turkish  war. — As  a  result  of  an  uprising 
in  Crete  there  took  place  the  War  of  1897  between 
Greece  and  Turkey  in  which  the  former  was  de 
feated,  and  compelled  to  pay  a  war  indemnity.  Still 
it  ultimately  led  to  the  gradual  deliverance  of  Crete 
from  Turkish  tyranny  and  its  union  with  Greece. 
The  Great  Powers  compelled  Turkey  to  withdraw 
its  troops  from  Crete  which  was  made  autonomous, 
with  Prince  George  of  Greece  as  high  commissioner. 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  21 

Balkan  wars. — The  emancipation  of  wider  areas 
from  Turkish  oppression  was  achieved  as  a  result  of 
the  Balkan  War  (1912-13).  Thus  Epirus  with  Ya- 
nina,  southern  and  a  part  of  eastern  Macedonia, 
including  Salonica,  with  the  Islands  of  Mytilene, 
Chios,  Samos,  Lemnos,  Imbros,  and  Crete  were  all 
united  with  the  Kingdom  of  Greece.  Thus  Greece 
was  doubled  in  population. 

Great  idea. — Still  the  " Great  idea,"  (Megali 
idea),  cherished  by  all  the  Greeks — the  emancipa 
tion  of  all  Greeks  from  the  Turkish  yoke,  and  the 
Union  of  the  Grecian  territories  with  the  mother 
country — was  far  from  realization. 

The  World  War.— The  Great  War  broke  the 
chains  of  many  races,  and  people  enslaved  for  cen 
turies  to  autocratic  rule.  This  it  seems  will  effect 
the  deliverance  of  further  numbers  of  Greeks  from 
Turkish  oppression  and  their  union  with  their  be 
loved  Hellas. 

Treaty  of  Sevres. — According  to  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  of  Sevres,  that  ended  the  war  between  Greece 
and  Turkey,  the  greater  part  of  the  Greeks  subject 
to  Turkey  were  to  be  freed  and  join  with  Greece. 
Such  important  centers  of  Greek  life  and  influence 
as  western  and  eatern  Thrace,  thus  became  parts  of 
Greece  at  once,  and  the  Smyrna  region  will  ulti 
mately  do  the  same.  According  to  special  arrange 
ments  Venizelos  concluded  with  Italy,  Northern 
Epirus  and  the  Dodecanese  would  in  due  time  join 
the  mother  country.*  But  the  unfortunate  Near 
East  was  not  to  enjoy  peace  and  settled  conditions 
in  this  way.  While  the  Sultan's  government  in  Con 
stantinople  sanctioned  the  treaty  of  Sevres  (Aug. 
9,  1920)  the  nationalist  Turks  under  Mustapha 
Kemal  Pasha  started  a  rebellion  in  the  interior  of 


*  See   speech   of   Venizelos   at  the   Greek   Parliament,   New   York 
Times,  June  13,  1920. 


22  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Asia  Minor  with  Angora  as  their  capital,  organized 
a  so-called  National  Assembly  claiming  to  represent 
the  Turkish  Empire,  repudiated  the  Treaty  of 
Sevres,  and  declared  they  would  fight  to  a  finish  for 
the  integrity  of  Turkey,  asserting  that  Thrace  and 
Smyrna  were  integral  parts  of  the  Empire.  Greece 
had  to  fight  to  defend  her  cause,  which  is  not  im 
perialistic  as  some  mistakenly  assert,  but  a  war  of 
emancipation.  Both  sides  are  determined  to  fight 
to  the  end.  The  outcome  is  problematical.  The 
war  against  Kemal  was  started  by  Venizelos  with 
the  approval  of  the  Entente  Powers,  but  since  the 
return  of  King  Constantine,  the  Entente  declared 
neutrality  and  Greece  fought  single-handed  during 
1921. 

The  Nationalist  program  of  extermination. — The 
Nationalists,  taking  advantage  of  the  war  with 
Greece,  have  been  carrying  out  their  program  of  ex 
termination  of  the  non-Turkish  elements  in  Asia 
Minor.  They  have  deported  almost  all  the  male 
Greeks  and  Armenians  from  Pontus  (modern  Trebi- 
zond),  the  towns  and  villages  along  the  southern 
shore  of  the  Black  Sea  and  plundered  their  posses 
sions.  Many  regions  in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor 
have  been  scenes  of  deportation,  massacre,  impris 
onment  and  execution  of  innocent  people  after  mock 
trial.  The  deportees  wander  in  inhospitable  Turk 
ish  and  Kurdish  regions  in  the  interior.  The  Arme 
nian  deportations  of  1915-1919  had  already  demon 
strated  what  an  effective  means  of  extermination 
deportation  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Turk.  If  Greece 
achieves  the  union  of  the  greater  part  of  her  chil 
dren  under  her  rule,  75  to  80  percent  of  the  ten  mil 
lion  Greeks  in  the  world  will  be  united.  The  rest 
are  scattered  mostly  in  what  remains  as  Turkey, 
Caucasus,  Egypt,  U.  S.  A.,  England,  France,  etc. 
The  rights  and  security  of  those  remaining  in  Tur 
key  are  guaranteed  by  treaty  amendments. 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  23 


PKESENT   POLITICAL  SITUATION 

Military  revolution. — To  understand  the  present 
political  situation  in  Greece  we  must  review  the 
main  events  leading  to,  and  following  the  military 
revolution  or  uprising  there  in  1909,  and  the  appear 
ance  in  affairs  of  Eleutherios  Venizelos  of  Crete. 
The  defeat  in  the  Turkish  War  of  1897  aroused  the 
indignation  of  the  leaders  in  the  army  and  created 
wide  discontent  against  the  royal  family,  particu 
larly  against  the  Crown  Prince,  later,  King  Constan- 
tine,  who  was  field  marshal.  The  prevalence  of 
favoritism  and  the  want  of  proper  discipline  in  the 
army  and  in  fact  in  all  the  other  departments  of  the 
little  state,  the  political  corruption  and  rank  par- 
tizanship  throughout  the  country  gave  ground  to 
much  complaint  and  stirred  up  the  indignation  of 
patriotic  and  ardent  army  men,  which  at  last  burst 
into  the  rebellion  of  Ghoudi  in  1909,  a  military  up 
rising  that  aimed  at  clearing  the  army  of  corrup 
tion,  restoring  order  and  discipline,  and  thus  giving 
the  country  a  military  force  worthy  of  its  national 
aims  and  aspirations.  Constantine  had  to  leave  the 
country,  and  the  patriotic  officers  took  charge  of  the 
situation. 

Greece  had  long  been  suffering  through  lack  of 
good  leadership.  There  were  too  many  leaders  and 
petty  politicians  hunting  offices.  Greece  needed  a 
man,  a  leader,  and  he  was  found  in  the  person  of 
Eleutherios  Venizelos  of  Crete.  He  was  called  from 
Crete  to  come  over  and  help  the  country  in  her  work 
of  regeneration,  and  preparation  for  the  fulfillment 
of  her  national  program. 

Eleutherios  Venizelos.— "  Venizelos,  a  chivalrous 
character  and  a  true  patriot,  had  taken  a  leading 
part  in  the  affairs  of  Crete  in  her  uprising  as  well  as 
in  time  of  peace.  His  father  was  one  of  the  heroes 


24  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  Greek  War  of  Independence  (1821-27)  and 
had  left  him  as  his  only  legacy,  an  ardent  patriotism. 
He  was  for  order  and  discipline  in  the  army,  and 
throughout  the  state.  He  believed  in  the  rule  of 
principle,  rather  than  the  personal  whims  of  the 
former  political  leaders."  He  recalled  the  crown 
prince  from  exile  and  Constantine  was  reinstated  in 
the  army.  Thus  the  two  principal  factors  in  the 
recent  events  and  the  present  political  situation  in 
Greece  appear  on  the  stage,  and  Venizelos  began 
with  Constantine  to  cooperate  first,  unanimously  for 
the  good  of  Greece. 

"The  arrival  on  the  scene  of  a  single  man,  of  an 
upright,  unselfish  and  decided  character,  was  enough 
to  coordinate  all  the  active  and  capable  men  of  the 
country,  and  to  give  Greece  an  exceptional  forward 
movement.  By  appealing  to  France  for  a  military 
mission  in  order  to  reorganize  the  army,  and  to 
England  for  a  naval  mission  to  do  the  same  for  the 
navy  he  put  his  country  in  shape  to  participate 
gloriously  in  the  Balkan  War  against  Turkey  in 
1912-13,  and  victoriously  to  counter  the  treachery  of 
Bulgaria  in  June,  1913." 

Balkan  league. — Mr.  Venizelos  as  a  true  and  far- 
sighted  statesman  was  for  friendship  with  Bulgaria 
and  other  Balkan  states  and  thought  a  league  among 
them  would  be  the  best  means  for  the  pacification 
and  prosperity  of  the  Balkans  and  Europe  at  large. 

Turkish  revolution. — He  saw  that  the  so  called 
Turkish  Kevolution  of  1908  with  its  motto  of  "Lib 
erty,  Equality,  Fraternity  and  Justice"  was  a  mere 
artifice  intended  to  deceive  Europe  and  the  world, 
whereas  the  Young  Turks  aimed  in  reality  at  the 
Turkification  of  the  non- Turkish  and  non-Moslem 
elements  in  Turkey,  in  accordance  with  their  open 
program  "Turkey  for  the  Turks."  The  Young 
Turks'  program  was  detrimental  to  the  best  inter 
ests  of  all  the  Balkan  nations  as  well  as  of  the  Arme- 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  25 

nians,  Arabs,  Jews  and  other  non-Turkish  elements. 
It  aimed  at  the  ultimate  assimilation  and  absorption 
of  these  superior  elements  in  Turkey  by  the  inferior 
Turanian  Turks. 

Balkan  wars. — The  Balkan  League  gave  a  fatal 
blow  to  the  Young  Turks.  The  first  Balkan  War 
demonstrated  the  weakness  and  rottenness  of  the 
Turkish  State  on  the  one  hand,  the  vitality  and  the 
strength  of  the  Union  and  cooperation  of  the  Balkan 
nations  on  the  other.  Had  the  league  continued  in 
harmony,  or  rather  had  the  intrigues  of  the  Central 
Powers  allowed  it,  the  Balkan  allies  could  easily 
have  marched  on  Constantinople  and  driven,  the 
Turks,  bag  and  baggage  out  of  Europe. 

Unfortunately  the  intrigues  of  Germany  and  Aus 
tria  combined  with  the  treachery  and  insatiable 
greed  of  Bulgaria,  led  to  the  second  Balkan  War 
(June,  1913)  ending  with  the  defeat  of  Bulgaria. 
The  Treaty  of  Bucharest  gave  a  decided  superiority 
to  Eumania,  Serbia  and  Greece  in  the  Balkans. 

World  War. — This  upset  subtle  and  long  planned 
schemes  of  Germany  and  Austria,  as  well  as  Bul 
garia  and  Turkey,  and  thus  served  as  a  precursor 
of  the  terrible  World  War,  1914-18. 

Constantino  and  Venizelos  differ. — So  far  Con- 
stantine  and  Venizelos  as  well  as  all  the  leaders  in 
Greece  worked  harmoniously.  But  when  the  matter 
of  Greece  joining  the  Great  War  was  taken  up, 
opinion  was  divided.  Venizelos  was  from  the  very 
start  for  joining  the  Entente  Allies ;  the  very  inter 
ests  of  Greece,  he  thought,  required  it;  her  geo 
graphic  position,  the  historical,  traditional  friend 
ship  of  the  Entente  to  Greece,  as  well  as  economic 
reasons  demanded  it;  besides,  by  the  terms  of  a 
treaty  with  Serbia,  Greece  was  in  honor  bound  to 
join  the  conflict.  Not  so  thought  King  Constantine 
and  the  General  Military  Staff.  They  regarded 
Prussian  militarism  invincible,  and  repudiated  or 


26  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

explained  away  the  Serbian  Treaty.  They  thought 
the  best  interests  of  Greece  required  her  remaining 
neutral.  To  join  the  war,  Constantine  asserted, 
would  mean  entire  ruin  for  Greece,  and  he  wanted 
to  save  her  from  the  fate  of  Serbia  and  Eumania. 
Besides,  if  Greece  joined  the  Entente,  he  further 
asserted,  the  hatred  of  the  Turks  would  be  aroused 
and  millions  of  Greeks  residing  in  Turkey  would  be 
in  danger  of  massacre  and  outrage. 

Venizelists  and  Royalists. — Thus  developed  the 
two  groups  or  parties  of  Venizelists  and  Eoyalists. 
The  latter  claim  to  have  been  for  neutrality,  but  the 
Venizelists  charge  them  with  pro-Germanism. 

Venizelos  ousted. — As  Constantine  did  not  ap 
prove  the  policy  of  Venizelos,  he  dismissed  him 
from  office,  February,  1915,  though  he  was  elected 
by  the  people  by  a  great  majority.  Venizelos  was 
reflected  in  May,  1915,  but  contrary  to  the  constitu 
tion,  Constantine  ousted  him  again,  October,  1915. 

Revolutionary  government  at  Salonica. — Failing 
to  persuade  the  king  to  follow  the  majority  of  the 
Grecian  people  and  thus  save  Greece  and  his  dy 
nasty,  Venizelos,  along  with  General  Danglis  and 
Admiral  Coundouriotis,  left  Athens,  June,  1917,  and 
went  to  Crete  and  then  to  Salonica,  and  started  the 
revolutionary  movement  which  resulted  in  the  de 
thronement  of  King  Constantine  by  the  Allies  at  the 
request  of  the  revolutionary  government  of  Veni 
zelos.  Alexander,  the  second,  son  of  Constantine, 
ascended  the  throne. 

Services  of  the  Greek  army. — The  Greek  army 
rendered  a  great  service  to  the  Entente  cause  in 
Macedonia.  The  first  shaft  was  driven  into  the  Bul 
garian  front  by  the  Greeks,  and  the  yielding  of 
Bulgaria  was  the  precursor  of  the  total  break  of  the 
Central  Powers.  Venizelos  was  hailed  by  promi 
nent  statesmen  as  one  of  the  foremost  leaders  at 
the  Peace  Conference  in  Paris  and  San  Eemo.  He 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  27 

secured  for  Greece  the  main  points  she  fought  for. 
While  Greece  was  rejoicing  over  the  success  of  the 
treaties  Venizelos  secured,  there  happened  an  un 
toward  accident  that  caused  upheavals  in  the  po 
litical  history  of  Greece.  King  Alexander  was 
bitten  by  a  monkey  in  Tatoi,  the  royal  summer  resort 
near  Athens,  as  the  result  of  which  he  died.  Ad 
miral  Coundouriotis  was  made  regent  and  the 
crown  was  offered  to  Prince  Paul,  the  youngest  son 
of  Constantine.  He  refused  on  the  ground  that  it 
belonged  first  to  his  father  and  his  elder  brother 
George,  the  Crown  Prince.  It  was  then  election 
time.  Venizelos  made  it  clear  in  his  appeal  to  the 
people  that  it  was  a  contest  between  himself  and 
Constantine.  They  must  choose  one  or  the  other. 
November  14,  1920,  was  a  signal  day  in  Greek  his 
tory.  In  spite  of  all  the  diplomatic  victories  and  un 
precedented  advantages  he  had  secured  for  Greece, 
Venizelos  was  defeated.  He  at  once  left  Greece. 
In  his  farewell  to  his  party  followers  he  asked  them 
to  respect  the  vote  of  the  people  and  support  the 
party  in  power.  The  aged  statesman,  Demetrius 
Ehallis,  headed  the  new  government,  and  the 
dowager  Queen  Olga  took  the  regency  as  Admiral 
Coundouriotis  resigned.  Although  the  vote  of  No 
vember  14  was  at  the  same  time  a  plebiscite  on  the 
question  of  the  return  of  Constantine,  still  a  sep 
arate  plebiscite  was  taken  on  December  5th  in  which 
a  vast  majority  voted  for  the  return  of  King  Con 
stantine  to  the  throne.  According  to  newspaper  re 
ports  the  Venizelists  took  little  part  in  the  plebis 
cite.  On  December  19,  1920,  the  king  and  queen 
returned  to  Athens,  after  living  in  Switzerland  since 
June,  1917.  Their  family  had  preceded  them.  The 
main  causes  for  the  defeat  of  Venizelos  were  (1)  The 
war  weariness  of  the  Greek  people. 

Causes   for  Venizelos'    defeat. — Venizelos,   him 
self,  gave  this  reason,  during  his  visit  to  New  York. 


28  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

He  said  that  though  by  nature  peace-loving,  it  so 
happened  that  there  was  war  whenever  he  was  in 
power.  So  the  people  thought  there  would  be  no 
peace  as  long  as  he  was  in  power.  His  opponents 
promised  the  disbanding  of  the  troops  and  a  procla 
mation  of  peace.  (2)  Absorbed  in  diplomatic  fights 
in  the  interest  of  Greece,  he  was  often  absent  from 
home  and  internal  affairs  were  left  to  his  followers. 
Abuses  ascribed  to  some  of  them  embittered  the 
people  and  spoiled  the  internal  policy  of  Venizelos. 
He  is  assailed  by  his  opponents  as  arrogant,  over 
bearing,  tyrannous  and  dictatorial.  (3)  Constantine 
was  viewed  by  many  under  the  glamor  of  the  halo 
given  him  as  a  result  of  the  victories  in  the  Balkan 
LWars.  They  could  not  believe  their  great  field  mar 
shal  could  have  ever  been  unpatriotic.  Conse 
quently  they  thought  a  great  injustice  was  done  him 
when  he  was  removed  by  the  Allies.  Many  also 
resented  it  as  an  interference  in  the  internal  affairs 
of  Greece.  (4)  The  long  delays  by  the  powers  in 
the  settlement  of  Greek  affairs  caused  much  tension 
and  strain  on  the  nerves  of  the  people.  After  the 
armistice  they  were  left  to  their  own  resources  in 
the  fight  against  the  Turks.  There  seemed  no  end 
of  fighting  and  no  peace  in  sight,  while  the  powers 
shifted  from  place  to  place  the  discussions  of  Greco- 
Turkish  affairs.  The  long  pent-up  feelings  burst  at 
the  election,  as  Venizelos  was  associated  and  iden 
tified  in  the  minds  of  the  Greek  people  with  the 
Entente  Powers.  (5)  Old  party  leaders,  while  dif 
fering  among  themselves,  worked  together  to  over 
throw  him.  Venizelists  assert  that  graft,  and 
manipulation  at  the  polls  occurred.  Endless  dis 
cussion  continues  all  the  time  on  this  and  many 
other  political  points,  between  the  Venizelists  and 
Constantinists.  Soon  after  the  Venizelist  defeat, 
the  Entente  Powers  expressed  their  disapproval  and 
announced  definitely  that  they  would  withdraw  all 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  29 

economic  support  from  Greece  if  Constantino  re 
turned.  In  February,  1921,  representatives  of  the 
Entente  met  in  conference  in  London,  the  repre 
sentatives  of  Greece,  headed  by  Premier  Kalogero- 
poulos,  and  the  two  Turkish  delegations, — one  of  the 
Sultan's  government  headed  by  Twefik  Pasha,  the 
other  of  the  Nationalist  at  Angora  headed  by  Bekir 
Sami  Bey.  The  powers  offered  to  mediate  between 
the  Greeks  and  Turks  and  settle  their  differences, 
sending  special  commissioners  to  Smyrna  and 
Thrace  to  determine  the  relative  strength  of  the 
various  elements  there.  Neither  party  would  accept 
the  offer  and  fighting  started  early  in  the  spring  of 
1921  and  continued  all  summer.  Premier  Gounaris 
of  Greece  visited  the  entente  capitals  to  find  loans, 
and  to  discuss  and  prepare  grounds  for  possible 
peace  terms  with  Turkey.  The  results  of  his  visit 
are  not  known.  If  no  terms  can  be  found  for  a  defi 
nite  peace,  war  will  continue,  and  the  unfortunate 
Near  East  people  have  to  face  further  devastation, 
bloodshed  and  suffering.  France  has  recognized  the 
Nationalist  government  under  Kemal  and  evacuated 
Cilicia,  for  which  France  had  a  mandate  from  the 
League  of  Nations.  She  has  also  received  favorable 
economic  and  other  concessions  from  the  Kemalists. 
The  French  evacuation  has  exposed  the  Christians 
there  again  to  massacre  and  outrage.  The  Arme 
nians  have  taken  refuge  in  Syria,  Greek  territory, 
Constantinople  and  other  places  of  safety.  Many 
Greeks  have  left  Cilicia.  The  withdrawal  of  French 
troops  set  free  numerous  Turkish  troops,  so  that 
Greece  has  stronger  forces  to  face  if  the  war  con 
tinues.  But  the  morale  and  equipment  of  the  Greek 
forces  is  excellent.  Both  sides  have  economic  dif 
ficulties,  but  Kemal  is  in  the  worst  plight.  Thus  far, 
he  has  to  a  great  extent,  depended  upon  plundering 
and  confiscating  the  properties  of  the  Christians 
and  others  he  executes,  massacres  or  deports. 


30  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 


POLITICAL  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  NEAB  EAST  AS  AFFECTING 
EMIGRATION   FROM   AMERICA 

Questions  of  emigration  as  affected  by  the  politi 
cal  situation  in  Greece  and  Turkey  depend  on  the 
solution  of  the  Eastern  Question.  If  conditions  in 
the  Near  East  are  pacified  and  settled,  if  Greece 
realizes  her  national  aspirations  by  gathering  to 
gether  under  her  fold  her  children  scattered  in 
Western  Asia  Minor,  Thrace  and  the  islands  under 
Italian  occupation  and  a  strong,  righteous  govern 
ment  is  established  in  what  remains  as  Turkey, 
there  will  be  wider  openings  and  many  new  fields 
for  enterprise  in  the  Near  East,  and  many  Greeks 
in  America  will  go  back,  especially  those  who  had 
come  to  America  to  escape  Turkish  oppression  or 
military  enslavement.  Others  will  return  for  rela 
tives.  The  percentage,  however,  of  those  who  re 
turn  will  not  be  great.  Inquiries  in  many  cities  and 
of  various  individuals  indicate  that  those  settled  in 
America,  and  prospering,  will  not  easily  give  up  cer 
tainty  for  uncertainty.  Besides  those  accustomed  to 
American  ways,  ideas  and  customs  are  disappointed 
on  setting  foot  in  the  old  country  and  finding  their 
dreams  of  ease  and  comfort  there  far  from  reality, 
and  take  the  first  steamer  back  to  the  United  States. 

Soon  after  the  declaration  of  the  Armistice,  there 
was  a  rush  to  return  of  those  who  had  been  waiting 
for  years  to  see  their  relatives  and  friends,  espe 
cially  those  who  had  not  heard  from  them,  and  were 
anxious  to  learn  their  whereabouts. 


POLITICAL  CONDITIONS  AS  INVITING  UNREST  IN  AMERICA 

Political  conditions  in  the  Near  East  and  unrest 
in  America. — Ordinarily  conditions  in  Greece  or 
Turkey  would  scarcely  affect  any  situation  in  Amer- 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  31 

ica.  But  these  are  extraordinary  times  and  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  speculation  as  to  possible  combina 
tions  between  the  Young  Turks,  the  Bolsheviki  and 
the  Tartars.  They  first  dream  of  a  Pan-Turanian 
Alliance  between  the  Turks  in  Asia  Minor  and  the 
Tartars  of  Caucasus  and  Turkestan;  they  further 
dream  and  scheme  of  Pan  Islamism,  uniting  the  Mos 
lems  all  over  the  world  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Turks.  Enver  and  Djemal  Pashas  are  represented 
as  scheming  with  the  Bolsheviki  in  carrying*  out 
such  plans. 

The  Balkans  still  constitute  a  danger  spot  and 
the  Eastern  Question  has  always  been  a  cause  of 
unrest  in  Europe  and  even  in  the  world  at  large. 
Should  the  Bolsheviki  form  alliances  with  Pan- 
Islamic  and  Pan-Turanian  elements  and  succeed  in 
creating  chaos  in  the  Near  and  Far  East,  the  effects 
may  be  far-reaching  in  Europe  and  even  America. 

ECONOMIC    CONDITIONS 

The  East  unchangeable. — The  East  is  unchange 
able  or  moves  slowly,  consequently  customs,  arts, 
trades,  continue  pretty  much  in  the  same  way  for 
ages.  The  fields  are  plowed  with  the  same  kind  of 
plow  used  in  patriarchal  times.  Sheep  and  goats 
are  tended  by  shepherds  to-day  as  in  classical  or 
Biblical  times. 

Trader's  banks. — Greeks  are  commercial  and  sea 
faring  people.  So  they  are  the  principal  traders, 
bankers,  and  merchants  in  the  Levant.  The  Na 
tional  Bank  of  Greece,  the  Bank  of  Athens,  the 
Ionian  Bank,  the  Bank  of  Mytilene,  the  Bank  of 
Orient  are  the  principal  houses,  and  have  branches 
in  many  important  cities  both  in  Greece  and  Turkey. 

Export  and  import.— There  is  a  great  deal  of  im 
port  and  export  business  between  Greece  and  Tur 
key  on  the  one  hand,  Europe  and  America  on  the 


32  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

other.  Articles  of  luxury,  manufactured  goods, 
woolen  and  cotton  are  imported;  English  goods 
stood  very  high  both  in  price  and  quality.  French 
goods  competed  with  them,  but  the  German  and 
Austrian  goods  flooded  the  Levant  before  the  war, 
and  at  cheaper  prices  and  usually  of  lower  quality. 
Beady-made  clothes  from  Austria  filled  the  markets 
in  Constantinople,  Smyrna,  etc.  Italy  gradually 
gained  ground  and  competed  with  other  European 
nations  successfully  both  in  the  price  and  quality 
of  the  goods. 

The  principal  exports  from  Greece  and  Turkey  are 
raw  material,  wool,  cotton,  silk,  flax,  tobacco,  cur 
rants,  raisins,  olive  oil,  dry  figs,  sponges,  silver, 
lead,  zinc,  manganese,  and  iron.  (The  imports  in 
1901  were  $27,733,010;  in  1914  they  were  $35,026,- 
905,  and  the  exports  $23,425,375.)  The  imports  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war  had  decreased  enormously 
in  spite  of  their  apparent  increase  owing  to  the 
doubling  of  the  prices.  Commerce  between  the 
United  States  and  Greece  has  greatly  increased 
since  the  armistice,  November,  1918.  In  1916, 1,718,- 
500  pounds  of  figs  were  exported  to  the  United 
States,  but  not  a  pound  was  shipped  in  1917  owing 
to  lack  of  shipping  facilities.  The  export  of  to 
bacco  to  the  United  States  grew.  In  1915  the  value 
of  the  tobacco  export  to  the  United  States  was 
$2,914,627  and  in  1917  $14,422,703.  Representatives 
of  the  American  Tobacco  Co.  are  in  Kavalla,  Mace 
donia,  and  in  Samsoun,  Asia  Minor.  The  imports 
from  the  United  States  to  Greece  during  the  eleven 
months  ending  November  30,  1921,  were  $28,826,853 
as  compared  with  $35,761,896  in  the  same  months  of 
1920.  The  exports  from  Greece  to  the  United  States 
during  the  months  ending  November  30,  1921,  were 
$20,713,044  as  compared  with  $19,278,039  of  the  same 
period  in  1920.  (Atlantic  Monthly,  January  7, 
1922.) 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  33 

Navigation. — Greek  ships  and  sailing  boats  visit 
the  principal  ports  along  the  Black,  Marmora, 
JEgean  and  the  Mediterranean  seas.  They  even 
visit  England  and  America.  The  Greek  National 
Steamship  Company,  with  headquarters  in  Piraeus, 
Greece,  has  regular  steamer  service  between 
Piraeus  and  New  York. 

Greek  ships  commandeered  by  the  Allies  during 
the  war  rendered  a  great  service  to  the  cause  of 
the  Entente,  although  the  Greek  owners  had  to 
forego  much  of  the  profit  they  would  otherwise  have 
reaped.  Still  many  shipowners  accumulated  im 
mense  wealth.  The  number  of  steamships  that  en 
tered  the  port  of  Piraeus  during  1916  was  2,658  of 
2,329,919  tons  and  of  these  2,494  steamships  of 
1,898,059  tons  carried  the  Greek  flag. 

Industries. — Greece,  and  Turkey  are  not  indus^ 
trial  countries.  Industry  is  yet  in  a  primitive  state. 
Masons,  carpenters,  tailors,  shoemakers  and  all 
other  artisans  in  Thrace  and  Asia  Minor,  and  of 
course  in  Greece  are  Greeks.  But  factories  are  lim 
ited  to  certain  centers  as  Piraeus,  Salonica,  and 
Smyrna.  Still  there  has  been  remarkable  progress 
in  industry  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years,  and 
if  ^  peace  and  settled  conditions  prevail  soon,  there 
will  be  rapid  strides  taken  in  many  lines. 

The  following  notes  on  the  industrial  census  re 
cently  taken  in  Greece  were  published  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce, 
in  1918,  and  show  remarkable  progress  in  all 
branches  of  industry  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen 
years. 

"According  to  the  details  given,  there  are  in 
Greece  2,213  large  or  small  factories  employing  a 
total  of  36,124  hands.  Of  these  1,188  are  small  con 
cerns  employing  a  total  of  3,579  hands ;  743  are  mod 
erate  concerns  employing  a  total  of  23,700  hands. 
Among  the  232  businesses  which  represent  princi- 


34  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

pally  the  large  industries,  spinning  and  weaving  fac 
tories  which  represent  28  in  all,  with  10,004  hands, 
are  most  prominent.  Next  come  72  factories  or 
mills  for  the  preparation  of  various  kinds  of  pro 
visions  with  3,665  hands ;  28  engineering  works  with 
2,003  employees ;  23  chemical  works  with  1,890  hands ; 
16  tanneries  and  leather  working  factories  with  776 
hands ;  and  other  smaller  factories  engaged  in  vari 
ous  industries.  The  total  value  of  the  2,213  fac 
tories  amounts  to  260,363,647  drachmas  ($50,250,- 
184),  and  their  total  annual  returns  are  estimated 
at  372,274,308  drachmas  ($71,851,801).  Of  the  latter 
total  the  small  factories  are  responsible  for  106,- 
550,025  drachmas  ($20,564,155);  larger  factories 
for  250,794,810  drachmas  ($48,403,378)  ,  and  the 
large  factories  for  314,940,473  drachmas  ($60,783,- 
511).  Almost  one-half  of  the  value  of  the  annual 
products  of  the  282  large  factories  is  derived  from 
the  12  large  flour  mills.  With  regard  to  the  motive 
power,  570  of  the  factories  are  driven  by  steam 
power,  583  by  electricity,  326  by  hydraulic  power, 
308  by  gas,  and  235  by  petroleum  (oil  engines)." 

Agriculture. — Greece  is  a  mountainous  country, 
and  although  peasants  are  occupied  mainly  with 
agriculture,  it  is  in  a  backward  state.  Great  prog 
ress,  however,  has  been  made  in  recent  years,  and 
the  government  is  exerting  every  effort  to  promote 
it.  English  and  American  agricultural  implements 
are  being  introduced.  The  prospect  for  the  future  is 
very  bright.  The  government  has  agricultural 
schools  and  model  farms  for  encouraging  agricul 
ture.  Agricultural  expositions  are  held  from  time 
to  time  to  promote  and  stimulate  it. 

Chief  crops. — Only  one-half  of  the  soil  in  old 
Greece  is  arable.  The  chief  crops  are  currants, 
olives,  tobacco,  grapes,  cereals,  fruits,  and  figs.  The 
yield  of  currants  in  1917  was  140,000  tons,  and  in 
1919,  145,000  tons.  Olives  are  the  next  important 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  85 

crop.  The  yield  of  tobacco  in  1917  was  placed  at 
102,275,710  pounds.  The  estimated  yield  of  wine 
for  1918  was  10,566,800  gallons  or  nearly  double 
that  of  the  year  before. 

American  Machines. — Thessaly  is  rich  and  fertile 
in  agriculture,  and  the  Kavalla  region  in  Macedonia 
for  tobacco.  Tobacco  is  being  cultivated  with  good 
success  in  Peloponnesus.  American  machines  are  be 
ing  introduced  into  Smyrna  and  many  parts  of  Tur 
key.  The  American  Mission  and  the  Near  East  Be 
lief  representatives  are  rendering  a  great  service  in 
introducing  modern  methods  and  instruments  into 
agricultural  work  in  the  Levant. 

Cows  and  dairies. — In  Greece,  people  had  some 
prejudice  against  cows'  milk,  so  goats  and  sheep 
predominate  for  milking.  The  number  of  cows  is 
growing.  Mr.  J.  E.  Chrysakis,  of  Athens  has  ren 
dered  a  great  service  in  promoting  dairy-farming 
and  his  tea-rooms,  in  Constitution  Square,  Athens, 
with  all  the  farm  products,  are  well  known  to  Amer 
icans  and  Europeans  visiting  Athens.  His  farms 
are  near  Phaleron.  He  has  been  instrumental  in 
introducing  cows  from  Switzerland. 

Minerals. — The  chief  mineral  products  are  mag- 
nesite,  marble,  and  emery.  In  1914  there  were  pro 
duced  117,430  tons  of  magnesite ;  in  1919,  133,858 ; 
in  1916,  176,363;  and  in  1917,  99,518.  Transporta 
tion  difficulties  caused  a  great  decrease  in  mining, 
and  almost  stopped  marble  production. 

Roads. — The  greatest  need  of  Greece  is  the  good 
roads.  Now  there  are  over  3,000  miles  of  roads.  It 
is  to  the  credit  of  the  Greek  government  that  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  distractions  of  war  that  among  other 
public  works  which  have  engaged  their  energies  are 
the  construction  and  restoration  of  harbors,  the  erec 
tion  of  lighthouses,  the  construction  of  drainage 
works,  etc. 

In  1883  there  were  only  58  miles  of  railway,  but 


36  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

in  1914  about  1,365  were  open  and  100  more  were 
under  construction.  A  ship-canal  across  the  Isthmus 
of  Corinth  (four  miles)  was  opened  in  1893.  Greece 
is  now  connected  by  rail  with  the  rest  of  Europe. 
Athens  expresses  are  running  regularly  to  Paris. 

Wages  and  prices. — Greeks  in  general  are  ex 
tremely  temperate  in  living  and  wages  are  propor 
tionate  to  that  standard.  Of  course  there  are  great 
differences  according  to  localities,  in  country  and 
town,  in  Greece  or  Turkey.  The  pre-war  prices 
were  very  low  everywhere.  But  since  then  the  prices 
jumped  up  as  elsewhere  in  the  world,  money  lost 
its  purchasing  power  and  things  got  dearer  and 
dearer,  and  the  rate  of  exchange  changed  from  day 
to  day. 

Simple  life. — In  the  interior  of  Turkey  and 
Greece,  Greeks  live  in  primitive  fashion,  with  very 
plain  diet.  Bread — wholesome,  wholewheat  bread — 
is  the  staff  of  life.  Onions,  cheese,  milk,  and  sour 
or  curdled  milk,  yophourd,  are  in  daily  use  in  the 
villages.  Fruits  are  abundant  and  cheap.  Olives, 
olive  oil,  and  fish  are  very  popular.  Meat  is  used  in 
the  villages  sparingly,  and  is  almost  exclusively 
lamb  and  kid. 

The  unit  of  value  in  Greece  is  the  drachma,  which 
is  equivalent  to  a  franc,  19.3  cents;  the  exchange 
value  in  dollars  in  1918  was  19.4  cents.  In  1921  it 
varied  between  4  and  5  cents. 

In  Turkey,  the  Turkish  lira  is  nominally  100  pias 
tres,  gold,  but  the  paper  lira  is  greatly  deteriorated. 
$1  before  the  war  was  worth  24  piastres.  In  1921 
it  brought  200  and  more  piastres. 

Prices  of  commodities  were  doubled,  tripled  and 
multiplied  manifoldly  both  in  Greece  and  Turkey. 

Students  paid  in  Marsovan  before  the  war  $78. 
In  1920  they  paid  $200.  Conditions  in  Turkey  are 
entirely  abnormal.  Some  have  accumulated  more 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  37 

wealth,  while  many  suffer  in  utter  destitution  and 
misery. 

Greece  prosperous. — In  Greece,  people  on  the 
whole  are  prosperous.  Some  persons,  such  as  ship 
owners,  merchants,  real-estate  and  property  own 
ers,  grocers  and  farmers  made  large  fortunes 
during  the  war.  There  was  no  lack  of  profiteers, 
but  many  made  money  honestly.  Besides,  the  Al 
lied  Armies  in  Macedonia  spent  large  sums  of  money 
which  added  much  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 
The  workers  could  find  ample  employment  and  high 
wages  in  ammunition  works  and  otherwise  under  the 
Allies. 

As  British,  French  and  Italian  money  fell  off,  not 
to  say  anything  about  German,  Austrian,  Eu- 
manian  or  Turkish  money,  the  Greek  drachma  could 
not  remain  an  exception.  The  economic  ban  of  the 
Entente  towards  Greece  since  February,  1921, 
greatly  lowered  the  exchange. 

The  law  of  supply  and  demand  regulates  interna 
tional  and  commercial  relation,  and  as  long  as  Greece 
continues  importing  from  America  more  than  she 
can  export  to  it,  the  drachma  will  fetch  less. 

Another  reason  for  such  deterioration  as  given  by 
Greek  statesmen  in  1920  was  that  Greece  served  as 
the  medium  of  commercial  transactions  between 
America  and  certain  Balkan  and  other  states.  The 
Greek  merchants  paid  gold  to  America,  whereas  they 
received  in  turn  deteriorated  currency  from  the 
other  nations  and  the  effect  was  the  deterioration  of 
the  drachma. 

Revenue  and  expenditure. — The  revenue  for  1916 
was  reported  at  86,183,924  drachmas.  The  following 
figures  taken  from  an  English  source  are  given  in 
pounds:  revenue  and  expenditure  for  1917  respec 
tively  £8,200,000  and  £17,280,000,  and  for  1918, 
£12,000,000,  and  £36,400,000.  The  enormous  ex- 


38  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

penses  of  the  army  are  constantly  adding  to  the  na 
tional  debt. 

Still  there  is  great  hope  that  when  settled  condi 
tions  come,  Greece  will  have  such  resources  of  wealth 
in  the  newly  acquired  territories,  that  she  will  pros 
per,  and  will  be  able  gradually  to  pay  her  debt. 

Immigration  from  Greek  lands. — Greeks  began  to 
come  to  the  United  States  in  great  numbers  in 
1891.  Before  that  only  a  few  had  come,  either  rep 
resenting  commercial  houses,  like  the  Ralli  Bros.,  or 
for  study  in  Colleges  and  Universities,  but  after 
1891  there  followed  a  growing  stream  of  new  comers, 
at  first  from  Peloponnesus,  especially  from  Tripolis, 
and  gradually  the  fever  of  immigration  spread  not 
only  to  all  parts  of  Peloponnesus,  but  to  Attica, 
Thessaly,  Epirus,  and  Euboea,  to  Macedonia,  Thrace 
and  Asia  Minor  and  the  islands.  Indeed  no  part  of 
Greece  proper  and  the  Greek  regions  in  Turkey  and 
elsewhere  was  unaffected  by  it. 

Causes  of  emigration:  1.  Natural  tendency  to 
adventure. — As  causes  of  the  emigration  of  the 
Greeks  may  be  mentioned:  The  inborn  tendency 
in  the  Greek  people  for  trading,  seafaring  and  ad 
venture.  The  impulse  of  enterprise  and  daring  that 
sent  out  the  Argonauts  and  various  colonies  from 
ancient  Greece  to  distant  lands  drove  the  modern 
Greek  to  America  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
world. 

2.  Economic. — The  Argonauts  went  to  fetch  the 
golden  fleece  from  Colchis  in  Caucasus.  So  the 
Greek  immigrants  came  to  America  in  search  of 
gold.  Economic  condition  constitutes  the  main  cause 
of  Greek  emigration,  both  from  Greece  and  Turkey. 
Greece  was  poor  and  limited  in  opportunities  for 
wider  enterprises.  The  failure  in  crops  and  currants 
in  1891  drove  many  to  America  in  search  of  work 
and  opportunities  for  improvement  in  living..  The 
naturally  enterprising  Greek  finds  better  outlets  for 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  39 

his  love  of  adventure  and  enterprise  in  the  United 
States  and  generally  he  succeeds. 

3.  Success  of  the  immigrants  in  America. — Fur 
ther  cause  of  emigration  is  the  effect  of  the  letters 
written  and  the  money  sent  by  the  immigrants  in 
America  to  their  homes  in  Greece  and  Turkey.    The 
reports  of  their  success  spread  in  exaggerated  form, 
as  if  people  could  sweep  up  gold  in  the  streets  or 
pick  it  up  anywhere,  and  the  reports  drew  others, 
relatives,  friends,  enemies  and  all.    Gradually  it  be 
came  a  fashion  to  go  to  America.    Besides  people 
made  comparison  of  wages  and  value.     Sums  of 
money  comparatively   insignificant   in   the   United 
States  seemed  very  substantial  in  Greece.     They 
could  not  take  into  consideration  the  relative  values 
and  the  difference  of  the  circumstances  in  Greece 
and  America. 

4.  Military  service  in  Turkey. — As  to  Greek  emi 
gration  from  Turkey,  we  might  mention  as  a  further 
cause   the    Turkish   military   service.     Up   to   the 
declaration  of  the  Turkish  revolution  in  1908,  Chris 
tians  and  Jews  were  exempted  from  military  service. 
Every  male  paid  a  tax  of  $1.60  a  year  from  birth  to 
death.     With  the  declaration  of  so-called  equality 
between  the  Moslems  and  non-Moslems,  Christians 
were    admitted    into    the    army.     But    experience 
showed  that  it  meant  really  the  enslavement  and 
moral  and  physical  ruin  of  Christian  youth.     The 
whole  Turkish  constitution  was  a  camouflage  to  en 
force  the  Turkish  Nationalist  program  to  Turkify  the 
non-Turkish  elements  by  assimilating  them  through 
Islam,   or   eliminating  them  through  military  en 
slavement,  hardships  and  purposeful  neglect  of  the 
health  of  the  soldiers.     To  escape  such  treatment, 
many  Christian  youths  left  Turkey.     Young  men 
from  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  Trebizond,  Ordu, 
Fatsa,  Kerasunde,  Samsun,  as  well  as  the  hinter 
land,  Karahissar,  Sivas,  Kaisseri,  Angora,  Konia, 


40  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

from  Smyrna  and  its  hinterland,  from  Thrace,  Adri- 
anople,  Kirkkilissa,  Constantinople  and  all  over 
Turkey,  left  the  country  usually  secretly  without 
passports. 

Another  cause  of  the  emigration  from  Turkey  was 
religious,  due  to  the  conflict  between  Christianity 
and  Islam.  To  accept  Islam,  would  end  the  troubles 
and  persecutions  of  Christians.  Like  the  persecuted 
Puritans  of  England,  the  Huguenots  of  France,  the 
victims  of  oppression  in  Germany  and  other  lands, 
the  Greek  Christian  young  men  sought  shelter, 
refuge,  and  liberty  in  the  "Land  of  the  Free  and  the 
Home  of  the  Brave/' 

Peasant  and  poor  emigrants. — At  first  the  emi 
grants  from  Greece  were  from  the  peasant  class, 
mostly  illiterate,  and  poor.  Many  were  of  the  class 
that  had  failed  at  home  and  wanted  to  try  their  for 
tunes  in  new  lands.  They  were  mostly  young  men, 
single,  or  if  married,  who  had  left  their  families  in 
the  home  land. 

Later  came  better  classes. — Gradually  more  cul 
tured  and  educated  classes  began  to  go  to  America. 
Merchants  with  capital,  physicians  and  lawyers  with 
diplomas,  capable  young  men,  anxious  to  enter  the 
numerous  educational  institutions  in  America, 
rushed  to  the  New  World  to  seek  their  fortunes. 

Future  depends  on  political  conditions. — The 
future  of  the  emigration  from  Greece  and  Turkey 
depends  on  the  outcome  of  the  political  situation. 
The  establishment  of  a  just  and  liberal  government 
will  open  up  the  sources  of  wealth  in  the  country 
and  the  enterprising  will  find  ample  fields  at  home 
to  utilize  their  energies. 

Still  as  long  as  the  impulse  to  adventure  and  the 
love  of  enterprise  continue  living  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Greeks  and  while  the  economic  and  commercial 
opportunities  here  continue  there  will  keep  coming 
streams  of  Greek  emigrants  to  the  United  States. 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  41 

The  number  will  depend  largely  on  the  political  con 
ditions  in  the  Near  East. 
Legislation  about  emigration  from  Greece. — The 

rapid  growth  of  emigration  from  Greece  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  Greek  government  for  a  long 
time.  Whole  villages  were  being  emptied  of  their 
manhood  and  young  manhood,  women  alone  remain 
ing  behind.  The  Greek  government  planned  to  re 
strict  though  not  to  forbid  the  emigration.  Certain 
restrictive  measures  and  cautions  were  considered 
with  a  view  to  protect  the  emigrants  from  the  snare 
of  grasping  agents,  and  also  to  keep  the  young  for 
work  in  the  homeland.  See  National  Herald,  March 
1920. 

American  three  percent  immigration  law. — After 
the  adoption  of  the  immigration  law  in  March,  1921, 
by  the  American  Congress,  according  to  which,  the 
number  of  immigrants  to  the  United  States  between 
June  3,  1921  and  June  30,  1922  should  not  exceed 
three  percent  of  the  people  from  any  given  country 
as  shown  by  the  census  of  1910,  only  3,283  could  come 
from  Greece.  The  restrictions  include  those  from 
Thrace,  Smyrna  and  Turkey.  The  application  of 
the  law  presents  many  difficulties  and  works  great 
hardship  on  those  fleeing  from  persecution  and  op 
pression,  and  seeking  shelter  in  the  United  States, 
as  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed  and  downtrodden. 
There  should  be  a  special  provision  for  Greek  and 
Armenian  refugees  from  the  Near  East,  as  a  humani 
tarian  feature  of  the  law. 

SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

Greeks'  love  of  wisdom:  Education. — Greeks  have 
always  been  fond  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and 
education  has  taken  a  prominent  place  throughout 
their  history.  Even  during  the  Dark  Ages  of  Greece 
under  Turkish  rule  and  oppression,  while  illiteracy 


42  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

prevailed  among  the  people,  the  monasteries  were 
centers  of  learning,  and  patriotic  and  godly  priests 
taught  the  children  elements  of  learning  at  night  with 
the  light  of  the  torch  or  the  candle. 

With  the  Independence  of  Greece,  conditions 
changed  both  in  Greece  and  Turkey.  Since  the  mid 
dle  of  the  19th  century,  there  has  been  great  progress 
in  education.  The  educational  system  of  Greece  is 
very  complete.  There  are  three  grades  of  schools, 
the  demotic  or  primary  national  schools,  the  Hellenic 
or  secondary  grammar  schools,  and  the  gymnasia  in 
which  the  range  and  the  level  of  teaching  are  much 
the  same  as  in  a  German  gymnasium  or  in  the  upper 
grades  of  the  American  public  schools.  In  all  three 
grades  education  is  gratuitous  and  in  the  primary 
schools  is  compulsory  on  children  between  five  and 
twelve.  Every  village  has  its  demotic  or  primary 
school,  and  all  the  prominent  cities  their  gymnasia. 
The  university  at  Athens  is  attended  by  nearly  3,500 
students  many  of  whom  came  before  the  World  War 
from  Turkey.  The  medical  and  law  students  pre 
dominate  with  the  result  that  the  number  of  politi 
cians  and  office-hunters  grows  whereas  the  country 
needs  more  men  in  practical  and  scientific  lines  of 
work.  There  are  also  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  two 
agricultural  schools,  a  military  academy,  several 
naval  schools,  besides  many  private  schools  for  busi 
ness  training.  There  is  also  a  Normal  school  (Didas- 
caleion)  to  train  teachers  for  primary  schools. 

Education  of  girls. — The  girls  take  the  same 
courses  of  study  in  the  girls'  schools.  The  highest 
institution  of  learning  for  girls  in  Greece  is  Arsa- 
keion,  a  girls'  college  or  high  school  with  normal 
training  courses.  The  university  is  now  open  to 
women,  and  a  good  many  are  taking  courses  in  medi 
cine,  science,  and  arts. 

Education  among  the  Greeks  in  Turkey. — One  of 
the  privileges  granted  by  the  Sultan  to  the  Greek 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  43 

Patriarchate  regarded  the  matter  of  schools  and 
education.  The  Greeks  kept  their  schools  under 
their  own  control  with  programs  of  their  own  mak 
ing.  They  contributed  liberally  for  schools  and  their 
upkeep.  The  Turkish  government  supplied  schools 
for  the  Turks  and  Moslems,  taxing  the  Christians 
also  with  an  education  tax.  •  The  most  prominent 
building  in  many  villages  and  towns  is  the  Greek 
school  built  by  private  contribution  or  by  some  pa 
triotic  Greek,  as  a  tribute  of  love  to  his  native  place. 

System  of  instruction.— The  system  of  instruction 
is  similar  to  those  in  Greece.  Prominence  is  given 
both  in  Greece  and  Turkey  to  languages — especially 
to  Greek.  Mathematics,  history,  and  geography  re 
ceive  proper  attention.  Instruction  in  scientific  sub 
jects  needs  much  improvement.  Memorizing  is  very 
prominent  at  the  expense  of  originality  of  thought. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  Greeks, 
schools  and  pupils  in  Thrace  and  Asia  Minor : 

GREEKS  SCHOOLS          PUPILS 

Vilayet  of  Adrianople    366,363  562  42,890 

"       "    Constantinople    364,459  237  29,929 

"       "    Brusa 278,421  211  25,515 

"       "    Sivas 99,376  285  10,805 

"    Koniah     87,021  93  10,471 

*   Angora    45,873  75  4,425 

"    Kastamuni    124,919  32  2,366 

"    Trebizond    353,533  754  37,195 

"    Adana    70,000 

"    Smyrna    622,810  405  56,525 

Independent  Governments    105,964  138  10,346 

Dodecanese     102,727  128  10,285 

Imbros,     Tenedos     and     Kastelorizo 

Islands    21,877  15  837 


Totals 2,543,343          1,735          243,424 

Religious  instruction. — Eeligious  instruction  con 
stitutes  a  part  of  the  curriculum  in  all  Greek  schools, 
and  is  obligatory.  It  consists  of  the  teaching  of 
Sacred  History  (Hiera  Historia),  the  story  of  the 


44  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Old  and  New  Testaments  in  graded  courses  for  lower 
and  higher  classes,  the  Catechism  in  elementary  and 
advanced  courses,  including  an  exposition  of  the 
Nicene  Creed,  the  Decalogue,  the  Beatitudes,  and  the 
Sacraments.  Symbolics  is  given  usually  as  a  sepa 
rate  course.  The  text  of  Scripture  is  not  studied 
much,  excepting  the  quotations  in  history  and  cate 
chism  books.  Whole  passages  are  given  in  readers 
as  part  of  the  language  study.  The  New  Testament 
is  studied  as  part  of  the  religious  course  in  gym 
nasia. 

Advanced  schools. — Constantinople,  and  Smyrna/ 
have  advanced  schools  in  academic  courses,  both  for 
boys  and  girls.  Gymnasia  exist  in  many  prominent 
cities  in  Thrace,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  islands,  e.g. 
Adrianople,  Trebizond,  and  Samsun.  Even  in 
Zindji  Dere,  near  Caesarea,  Cappadocia,  in  the  heart 
of  Asiatic  Turkey,  there  is  a  Greek  gymnasium. 
Zappeion  is  the  highest  school  for  girls  in  Constan 
tinople,  erected  through  the  munificence  of  Zappas, 
a  rich  Greek  from  Epirus. 

American  schools. — Greeks  have  lately  taken  ad 
vantage  of  the  American  schools  in  the  Near  East, 
although  at  first  they  were  very  reticent  and  suspi 
cious  about  them.  The  majority  of  students  in 
Eobert  College,  Constantinople,  and  International 
College,  Smyrna,  are  Greeks.  The  same  was  true  of 
Anatolia  College,  Marsovan,  until  the  deportations 
of  1915  overthrew  it.  It  started  after  the  armistice, 
operating  only  the  preparatory  department,  but  it 
was  closed  again,  March,  1921  by  the  Nationalist 
Turks. 

French  schools. — Large  numbers  of  Greeks  at 
tended  the  French  schools  in  Turkey  conducted  by 
the  Jesuits,  Franciscans,  and  other  orders  of  the 
Eoman  Catholic  Church.  The  French  schools  gave 
a  practical  knowledge  of  the  French  language,  with 
an  outward  polish  of  manners,  but  without  really 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  45 

training  the  mind.  The  American  institutions  aimed 
in  developing  true  manhood  and  womanhood,  teach 
ing  the  students  to  think  and  judge  for  themselves. 

Housing  in  towns. — There  are  great  differences 
as  to  housing,  both  in  Greece  and  Turkey.  In  large 
cities  there  are  houses  with  dining,  sitting  and  sleep 
ing  rooms,  modern  kitchens,  and  sanitary  arrange 
ments.  At  present,  certain  cities,  especially  Con 
stantinople,  Smyrna,  Athens,  Salonica,  etc.,  are  ex 
tremely  overcrowded,  so  that  it  is  a  serious  question 
to  find  accommodations  in  them,  for  newcomers.  In 
normal  times,  people  are  properly  housed.  Bed 
steads  are  in  common  use  in  Greece  and  in  many 
parts  of  Turkey. 

In  the  interior. — In  the  interior  of  Turkey  in 
towns  as  well  as  villages,  the  same  room  often  serves 
as  dining,  sitting  and  sleeping  room.  The  floor  is 
covered  with  carpets  or  rugs.  There  are  divans  or 
sofas  with  cushions,  and  chairs  are  being  introduced 
more  and  more.  At  meals  the  table-cloth  is  spread 
first,  then  the  wooden  table  upon  it,  or  a  large  copper 
tray  on  a  framework.  People  sit  on  the  ground 
with  the  edge  of  the  table  cloth  on  their  laps,  and 
ordinarily  all  dip  their  spoons  or  forks  in  the  same 
dish.  At  night  beds  are  spread  on  the  divans  or  the 
floor,  and  in  the  daytime  they  are  kept  piled  up  in 
wardrobes.  In  some  villages  the  home  is  simply  a 
hut  consisting  of  one  or  two  rooms;  the  fire  place 
serving  for  the  kitchen  as  well.  Of  course  palatial 
buildings  are  not  rare  even  in  small  places. 

Sanitation. — Sanitary  arrangements  are  in  need 
of  great  improvement.  Throughout  the  East,  the 
streets  are  narrow  and  crooked  and  the  houses  too 
much  crowded,  with  no  parks  or  public  squares. 
Still  people  in  general  live  outdoors,  and  have  plenty 
of  fresh  air  and  sunlight.  The  climate,  too,  is  very 
favorable  and  conducive  to  health.  Stagnant  waters 
cause  malaria  in  many  places. 


46  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

RECREATION 

Recreation  neglected. — People  do  not  think  much 
of  recreation  in  the  Near  East.  They  take  life 
easily,  working  with  leisure.  Men  are  busy  with 
their  work  in  stores  and  offices,  and  women  with 
household  work,  knitting  and  sewing.  The  most 
prevalent  mode  of  recreation  in  Greece  and  Turkey 
is  sitting  in  groups  in  houses  or  at  the  coffee  houses 
talking,  discussing  politics  and  sipping  Turkish 
coffee. 

Games. — Gossip  is  a  great  source  of  pleasure.  On 
Sundays  and  holidays  people  make  calls,  and  talk. 
Card  playing  and  other  games  like  dominoes,  chess, 
and  trictrac  are  inseparable  from  the  coffee  houses. 
Billiards  and  pool-rooms  are  common  in  large  cities. 
Cards  and  other  games  are  frequently  played  in 
family  circles.  Gambling  is  very  common,  though 
often  played  for  moderate  and  trifling  sums.  The 
law  forbids  gambling  but  ways  are  easily  found  to 
evade  it. 

Athletics. — Athletics  in  the  open  air  or  gymnas 
tics  are  not  prevalent.  Children  have  their  games 
and  plays,  especially  those  with  balls.  But  the 
grown-up  people  think  games  are  for  children.  The 
young  are  very  fond  of  athletics  and  many  of  them 
belong  to  athletic  societies  in  Athens,  Constanti 
nople,  and  Smyrna,  doing  excellent  work  in  pro 
moting  athletics.  Unfortunately  such  work  is  lim 
ited  to  a  few  centers  only.  Athens  has  a  large  mar 
ble  stadium  seating  75,000  where  Olympic,  Pan- 
Hellenic  and  school  games  are  held,  all  of  which  tend 
to  promote  love  of  sports  and  athletics.  Tennis  is 
being  introduced  in  centers  like  Athens,  Smyrna  and 
Constantinople.  Greeks  everywhere  need  to  learn 
the  Anglo-Saxon  and  American  love  of  games  and 
exercise  in  the  open  air. 

Societies. — Literary  and  musical  societies  play  an 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  47 

important  part  in  Greek  communities  in  promoting 
culture  among  the  people.  Thus  the  Society  Parnas- 
sos,  Athena,  the  Greek  Literary  Society  in  Constan 
tinople,  and  other  similar  organizations  in  other 
cities,  conduct  courses  of  lectures  and  public  meet 
ings  that  are  very  instructive  and  beneficial. 

Newspapers. — Newspapers  play  a  very  important 
role  in  Greek  life.  Athens  alone  has  33  dailies,  be 
sides  many  weeklies  and  monthlies,  and  other  pe 
riodicals.  Almost  every  town  in  Greece  has  its  local 
paper.  A  great  number  of  Greek  dailies  and  pe 
riodicals  are  issued  in  Constantinople,  Smyrna,  and 
other  important  centers  in  Turkey.  Greeks  are  fond 
of  news  and  devour  the  newspapers.  Coffee-houses 
are  almost  all  the  time  full  of  people  sipping  coffee, 
reading  newspapers  and  discussing  the  news  enthu 
siastically. 

Theaters. — There  are  numerous  theaters  in 
Athens,  Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  and  Greeks 
patronize  the  plays  very  much.  In  many  other  cen 
ters  both  in  Greece  and  Turkey  dramatic  perform 
ances  are  presented,  even  when  there  is  no  proper 
theater.  Amateurs  and  students  make  such  presen 
tations.  Moving  pictures  are  very  prevalent  and 
are  spreading  rapidly.  Every  village  and  town  in 
Greece  has  its  karagenze — a  show  similar  to  Punch 
and  Judy. 

MOBAL,  STANDAKDS 

Greeks  temperate. — Greeks  are  generally  tem 
perate  and  sober.  Wine  is  commonly  used  at  meals 
in  families  and  restaurants,  and  is  offered  at  all  so 
cial  and  family  gatherings,  and  coffee  houses,  in  ad 
dition  to  tea,  coffee  and  pastry,  can  provide  liquors. 
Even  small  groceries  have  tables  where  people  can 
have  drink  and  refreshments.  But  everywhere  mod 
eration  is  the  rule.  Though  some  may  go  to  excess 


48  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

sometimes,  still  it  is  remarkable  that  there  is  so  lit 
tle  drunkenness. 

Moral  life. — The  moral  life  of  the  people  is  in 
general  pure,  though  there  is  much  difference  be 
tween  the  sea-coast  and  the  interior,  or  the  large 
cities  and  the  country  places.  The  populous  centers 
are  more  lax  than  the  interior. 

Family  life  is  everywhere  respected,  kept  pure, 
and  blessed  with  children.  Only  in  places  where  wes 
tern  ways  are  introduced,  the  number  of  children 
diminishes.  The  so-called  European  or  a-la-Franca 
customs  are  often  corrupting  influences  in  the  Near 
East. 

Outside  of  large  centers  divorce  is  almost  un 
known,  and  everywhere  is  looked  down  upon  and  dis 
couraged. 

Unfortunately  the  double  standard  prevails  among 
the  Greeks  as  to  sex  morality.  Women  are  closely 
guarded  and  strict  morality  is  required  of  them.  As 
to  young  men,  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  they  will 
sow  their  wild  oats  and  cannot  be  expected  to  be 
very  strict. 

Influence  of  the  war. — The  morals  of  the  people 
were  greatly  undermined  during  the  World  War, 
especially  in  large  cities  and  army  centers.  All  good 
people  bemoan  the  prevailing  immorality  in  society 
in  Constantinople,  Athens,  Salonica,  etc. 

There  is  much  work  for  the  moral  refoimers  in 
large  cities.  In  most  of  them,  there  are  houses  of 
ill-fame  under  legal  control  and  protection,  but  al 
ways  condemned  in  respectable  circles,  as  places  of 
evil  and  corruption,  but  regarded  by  public  opinion 
as  a  necessary  evil. 

Dowries. — Unfortunately  the  custom  of  dowries 
prevails  in  Greek  Society.  Brothers  often  remain 
single,  or  postpone  their  marriage  in  order  to  pro 
vide  dowry  for  their  sisters.  In  fact  it  is  customary 
for  brothers  not  to  marry  while  the  sisters  remain 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  49 

unmarried.  Young  women  spend  most  of  their  time 
in  preparing  their  trousseaus.  It  is  only  in  recent 
years  that  young  women  began  to  help  in  office  work 
and  feel  somewhat  independent. 

Laxity  in  truthfulness. — In  general,  people  be 
lieve  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy,  but  lies  and 
equivocations  are  very  common.  While  in  the  mat 
ter  of  sex  relations  the  Greeks  stand  pretty  high,  in 
comparison  with  many  other  nations,  they  are  more 
lax  in  the  matter  of  truthfulness. 

How  developed. — Centuries  of  oppression  and 
persecution  developed  in  Greeks  as  also  in  other 
Near  East  people,  a  tendency  to  cover  the  truth,  and 
to  resort  to  disguises  and  subterfuges  and  even  di 
rect  lie^  as  a  means  of  self-defense  and  protection. 
Often  pursued  by  the  enemy  and  hunted  down  by  the 
Turks,  their  tyrants,  Christians  have  saved  their 
lives  or  the  honor  of  their  families  through  craft, 
tricks  or  even  deceptions.  It  is  not  strange  that 

Eeople  brought  up  under  such  circumstances  do  not 
^el  the  same  conscientious  scruples  against  false 
hood  as  those  who  are  brought  up  under  the  influ 
ences  of  Christian  principles  and  free  institutions. 
Attachment  to  relatives. — Greeks  are  strongly  at 
tached  to  their  families  and  relatives.  Family  life 
in  many  parts,  especially  in  Turkish  sections,  is  of 
the  patriarchal  type.  It  comprises  father,  mother 
and  the  children,  and  as  the  sons  grow  up  they  bring 
their  brides  to  the  paternal  home,  where  the  mother 
rules  and  all  daughters-in-law  obey  her.  But  it  is  a 
growing  custom  for  married  couples  to  open  their 
own  homes  separately,  especially  in  cities. 

In  certain  sections,  especially  the  Peloponnesus, 
there  is  clannishness,  and  quarrels  are  not  rare 
among  different  clans.  The  effect  of  this  is  often 
seen  in  politics.  The  various  parties  consist  of  the 
followers  of  certain  heads  of  prominent  families  or 
clans. 


50  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Greeks  are  very  neighborly  and  helpful  to  each 
other,  especially  in  small  places.  Neighbors  visit 
and  help  one  another.  "A  good  neighbor  is  closer 
than  a  brother,"  says  a  Greek  proverb.  "In  select 
ing  a  house  consider  first  the  neighbors,"  says  an 
other. 

Are  democratic. — Greeks  are  very  democratic. 
There  is  no  aristocracy  or  rank  or  class  distinc 
tion  among  them.  As  industries  are  not  developed 
there  is  no  capitalist  and  labor  question.  Everyone 
can,  and  prefers,  to  have  his  own  trade  and  hold 
property.  Thus  there  are  small  traders  and  mer 
chants  everywhere.  Individualism,  that  character 
izes  the  race,  hinders  the  formation  of  trusts  or  large 
organizations,  and  also  of  Communism.  The  Greeks 
are  never  Bolshevists. 

Socialists. — There  is  a  small  Socialist  party  dis 
cussing  questions  of  capital  and  labor,  but  it  is  con 
fined  almost  wholly  to  Athens  and  Piraeus.  There 
are  also  clubs  and  other  organizations  of  clerks  and 
various  tradesmen. 

All  patriotic. — Greeks  are  nationalists.  The  love 
of  country  and  nation  outranks  every  other  feeling. 
Indeed,  it  is  more  than  religion  to  them.  The  words 
that  Plato  makes  Socrates  say  in  Crito — "Patris, 
the  fatherland,  is  dearer  than  father  and  mother," — 
are  believed  in  and  practiced,  even  to-day.  The  con 
sciousness  of  national  unity  of  the  whole  Greek 
race  unites  all  Greeks  together.  Wherever  they  live, 
they  all  cherish  love  and  devotion  to  Hellas,  the 
mother  country. 

Help  old  country. — Greeks  in  the  United  States 
help  their  home  folks  in  every  way,  especially  finan 
cially.  They  help  their  village  or  town,  providing 
for  their  needs  in  church  and  school  matters;  they 
build  and  repair  the  bridge  in  the  village ;  open  up  a 
new  well,  or  build  a  water  course  and  reservoir.  The 
GreOk  society,  "Kozani,"  in  New  York  is  collecting 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  51 

funds  to  build  public  baths  in  their  native  town 
Kozani,  Macedonia.  The  Icarian  Society  has  plans 
for  a  gymnasium  or  high  school  in  their  native 
island,  Icaria;  others  raise  funds  for  a  belfry  or  a 
new  bell  to  their  church  at  home. 

Athens  is  the  capital  of  Hellenism.  Greeks  who 
amass  wealth  in  Egypt,  Africa,  India,  England, 
France,  or  Rumania,  remember  in  their  wills  the 
various  national,  educational  and  philanthropic  in 
stitutions  of  Athens.  Thus  Averof,  Arsakes,  Sinas, 
Varvakis,  Syngros,  Zappas  are  a  few  out  of  the  host 
of  patriots  who  have  contributed  munificently  for 
the  adornment  of  Athens  with  public  buildings. 

Greeks  have  never  been  strong  in  internationalism, 
though  not  lacking  in  idealism.  The  ancient  Greeks 
had  the  Amphictyonic  Council,  Plato  had  his  vision 
of  the  World  Eepublic,  Venizelos  believed  in  the 
Balkan  League  and  endeavored  to  preserve  it  even 
with  the  sacrifice  of  Greek  interests.  He  also 
strongly  supported  the  League  of  Nations  at  the 
Paris  Peace  Conference. 

Though  strongly  nationalistic,  the  Greeks  desire 
to  live  amicably  with  other  nations  and  would  gladly 
do  their  part  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  world 
and  cultivating  peace  and  good  will  among  the  na 
tions. 

Language  question. — The  Greek  language  con 
tinues  as  a  living  memorial.  It  was  never  dead,  nor 
ceased  being  spoken.  It  underwent  many  changes 
in  modification,  accretions,  growth  and  development. 

Greek  language  living. — There  are  stages  in  the 
process  of  these  changes,  and  we  have  the  Homeric, 
Attic,  Alexandrian,  Byzantine  and  modern  periods. 
In  the  course  of  time  there  crept  in  many  foreign 
words  and  expressions,  especially  from  the  Italian, 
French  and  Turkish,  which  have  become  part  of  the 
language  as  spoken  by  the  people  to-day.  Besides 
there  are  many  local  differences  in  Athens,  Crete, 


52  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Cyprus,  Pontus,  etc.,  which  may  be  regarded  as 
dialects. 

There  is,  however,  uniformity  or  a  common 
standard  in  the  written  style  or  language,  which  is 
respected  by  literary  Greeks  everywhere. 

Two  schools. — There  are  two  schools  at  present 
in  regard  to  literary  form  in  modern  Greek.  1.  The 
purists  who  aim  at  purging  the  modern  Greek  of  all 
foreign  accretions  in  words  and  phrases  and  desire 
to  conform  it  as  much  as  possible  to  the  ancient  or 
Attic  Dialect,  as  represented  by  Xenophon  or  the 
Church  Fathers.  The  grammar  is  the  same  as  the 
Attic,  only  simplified,  and  many  words  and  phrases 
are  to  be  added  to  meet  modern  needs  and  ideas. 

2.  The  demotists,  who  advocate  that  the  spoken: 
Greek,  should  be  the  medium  of  expression  in  all  lit 
erary  style,  in  society,  courts,  schools,  church  and 
everywhere.  People,  they  hold,  should  write  as  they 
speak.  A  strong  conflict  is  going  on  between  the 
two  schools.  It  is  not  simply  a  dispute  about  dic 
tion;  grammatical  forms  also,  are  involved  in  the 
discussion.  The  purist  condemns  the  dernotic  as 
barbaric.  The  supporters  of  the  demotic  regard  the 
purist  style  as  artificial,  crude  and  doomed  to  die. 

The  spoken  style  has  already  won  the  field  in  fic 
tion,  poetry  and  stories,  whereas  history,  science, 
philosophy,  law  and  theology  cling  to  the  purist 
style.  The  newspapers  are  divided,  but  almost  all 
use  both  styles  according  to  the  subject  matter.  The 
editorials  are  usually  in  the  purist  style. 

Strangely  most  of  the  newspapers  in  America  pre 
fer  the  purist. 

Language  has  a  great  bearing  on  the  education, 
training  and  development  of  the  young.  The  chil 
dren  use  the  demotic  at  home,  as  do  the  parents,  how 
ever  cultured  and  educated  they  may  be.  But  as 
soon  as  a  child  goes  to  school  the  purist  comes  in 
with  the  big  words  and  phrases,  even  in  the  primary. 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  53 

The  government  of  Venizelos  made  the  great  re 
form  that  the  demotic  is  to  be  the  medium  of  instruc 
tion  in  primary  education.  Higher  courses  are  to 
be  given  in  the  purist  style. 

The  matter  of  dual  language  is  a  great  hindrance 
and  handicap  in  the  mental  growth  and  development 
of  the  people  of  Greece.  The  conflict  has  important 
bearing,  too,  on  church  and  religious  matters. 

LEADEKSHIP 

Need  of  leaders. — Leadership  is  the  greatest  need 
among  the  Greeks.  Unfortunately  there  are  too 
many  leaders.  All  aspire  to  leadership,  none  want 
to  be  led.  Factiousness,  division  and  disputations 
have  been  among  the  chief  weaknesses  of  the  Greek 
people.  "  Where  there  are  four  Greeks,  there  are 
five  captains  or  leaders, "  says  a  proverb. 

Sources  of  leadership. — Happily  there  has  been 
no  lack  of  good  leaders  at  all  the  stages  of  Greek 
history.  At  present  the  University  of  Athens  sup 
plies  the  principal  leaders.  Graduates  from  its  vari 
ous  departments,  especially  the  law  school,  are  the 
main  leaders.  Greece  is  a  land  of  lawyers  and  from 
among  them  have  come  her  chief  politicians.  Thus 
the  latest  great  leader  of  Greece,  Venizelos  himself, 
is  a  graduate  of  the  law  school,  and  was  a  lawyer  in 
Crete. 

Members  of  Parliament  have  great  influence  and 
play  an  important  role  in  the  national  life.  Every 
Bouleutis  (M.  P.)  was  at  times  a  dictator  in  his 
own  sphere  of  influence.  The  press  is  an  immense 
power,  as  Greeks  are  great  readers,  consequently 
they  are  led  and  misled  through  the  press. 

Leaders  in  Turkey. — Among  the  Greeks  in  Turkey 
the  clergy  play  a  far  greater  part,  as  the  Patriarchs 
and  the  Bishops,  or  Metropolitans,  are  national  as 
well  as  religious  leaders.  Teachers  also  are  of  great 


54  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

influence.  In  many  villages  the  only  man  able  to 
read  and  address  the  people  is  the  teacher.  He  may 
be  of  greater  force  than  the  priest.  Physicians  play 
an  important  role  as  leaders  in  all  community  af 
fairs  because  they  are  educated  and  far  in  advance 
of  the  people  among  whom  they  practice. 

Merchants  and  prominent  business  men  are  potent 
forces  in  all  communities,  both  in  Greece  and 
Turkey. 

RELIGIOUS  CONDITION'S 

The  Greeks  almost  all  belong  to  the  Greek  Church, 
called  also  Greek  Orthodox  or  Eastern  Orthodox 
Church.  It  is  often  mistakenly  called  by  Americans 
Greek  Catholic.  The  church  of  this  name  or 
"Uniate"  is  a  wholly  different  denomination,  com 
prising  no  Greeks,  but  Kuthenians,  Slovaks,  Eu- 
manians,  Syrians,  and  a  few  others,  who  keep  the 
Eastern  Orthodox  rites  and  customs,  but  have  come 
under  the  authority  of  the  Pope  of  Eome. 

Greek  Church. — The  Greek  or  Eastern  Orthodox 
Church  is  the  church  of  Eussia,  Serbia,  Eumania, 
Montenegro,  Bulgaria  (though  considered  schis 
matic),  as  well  as  of  Greece,  and  the  Greeks  in  the 
whole  of  Turkey,  including  Egypt,  and  those  scat 
tered  in  other  countries  and  part  of  the  Syrians  and 
Albanians. 

All  the  various  national  churches  have  the  same 
doctrine,  practice  and  liturgy.  Each  national  church 
is  autocephalus,  i.  e.,  independent  and  self-govern 
ing,  administered  by  a  Holy  Synod  consisting  of 
bishops,  the  president  being  called  Metropolitan,  in 
some  cases  patriarch.  Thus  the  church  in  Greece 
is  governed  by  a  synod  of  bishops  with  the  Metro 
politan  or  Archbishop  of  Athens  as  its  president. 

Patriarchates. — There  are  four  historic  patri 
archates  of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Church,  compris- 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  55 

ing  the  territories  in  what  was  once  Turkey  i.  e. 
Macedonia,  Thrace,  Asia  Minor,  Syria  and  Egypt. 
They  are  of  Constantinople,  Antioch,  Jerusalem  and 
Alexandria.  The  Patriarchate  of  Constantinople  is 
also  called  ecumenical  and  is  the  highest  authority 
in  the  entire  Greek  Church  comprising  all  the  vari 
ous  national  churches.  It  was  and  is  still  the  great 
rival  of  papacy.  Yet  the  patriarch  makes  no  such 
pretentious  claims  as  the  Pope. 

State  church  in  Greece. — The  Greek  Church  is  the 
state  church  in  Greece  and  though  independent  in 
doctrinal  matters,  it  is  practically  under  the  Min 
istry  of  Ecclesiastical  affairs  and  Education,  and  a 
representative  of  the  King  sits  at  the  sessions  of  the 
Holy  Synod. 

Greeks  in  the  early  church. — The  history  of  the 
Greek  Church  is  really  the  story  of  Christianity  in 
the  Near  East.  The  Greeks  were  among  the  very 
first  to  accept  the  Christian  religion.  Churches  were 
organized  among  them  by  Paul  and  other  apostles. 
The  preachers,  missionaries,  and  theologians  in  the 
early  church  were  largely  Greeks.  The  New  Testa 
ment  was  written  in  Greek.  The  Greek  Fathers  were 
the  leaders  of  thought,  administrators  of  the 
churches  and  formula  tors  of  Christian  doctrine. 

Doctrinal  standards. — The  leading  personalities 
in  the  early  councils  that  formulated  the  doctrines 
of  God  as  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  of  the  person  of 
Jesus  Christ,  were  Greeks,  as  Athanasius,  Origen, 
Basil  the  Great,  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  Gregory  of  Naz- 
ianzus,  Chrysostom  and  many  others.  In  fact,  even 
to-day  the  Greek  Church  is  based  upon  the  doctrines 
formulated  by  the  early  ecumenical  councils.  The 
first  six,  325-687  A.D.,  dealt  with  the  dogmas  of  the 
Trinity  and  the  Person  of  Christ,  and  the  seventh 
with  the  image  controversy.  The  Nicene  Creed,  for 
mulated  at  the  First  Ecumenical  Council,  325  A.D., 
and  completed  at  the  second,  AD.  381,  is  the  basis 


56  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

of  its  theology,  and  is  recited  daily  at  tlie  Liturgy 
or  Eucharist  and  other  services.  The  candidate  for 
baptism  or  the  godfather  recites  it  before  baptism. 
St.  John  Chrysostom  is  even  to-day  the  main  au 
thority  in  the  exegesis  or  interpretation  of  Scrip 
ture  and  John  of  Damascus  in  Systematic  Theology. 

The  Greek  Church  claims  to  be  "holy,  catholic, 
and  apostolic/'  But  the  characteristic  adjective 
she  particularly  and  emphatically  appropriates  for 
herself  is  "Orthodox."  She  claims  to  have  pre 
served  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles  as 
in  the  early  church  in  all  its  purity  and  integrity. 
In  all  the  essentials  of  Christian  doctrine  the  Greek 
Church,  in  its  official  teaching,  is  Orthodox  and  con 
servative  compared  with  many  another  denomina 
tion^  Thus,  in  regard  to  the  doctrines  of  God,  the 
Trinity,  the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  redemption, 
and  eternal  life,  she  holds  the  most  orthodox  posi 
tion. 

There  is  no  Pope,  no  papal  supremacy,  nor  infalli 
bility,  no  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

Tradition  is  regarded  as  a  source  of  revelation 
along  with  the  Scriptures  and  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  church. 

There  is  no  doctrine  of  purgatory,  but  prayers  are 
said  for  the  dead.  There  is  no  doctrine  of  penances 
nor  indulgences,  though  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem  can 
buy  papers  of  absolution  from  their  sins.  There 
are  three  orders  of  ministry,  bishop,  presbyter  or 
priest,  and  deacon.  The  bishops  of  the  prominent 
cities  are  called  archbishops  or  metropolitans.  The 
Archbishops  of  Constantinople,  Antioch,  Jerusalem 
and  Alexandria  are  called  patriarchs.  Archiman 
drite  is  the  title  of  the  monastic  clergy  of  the  rank 
of  presbyter.  Bishops  and  monks  alone  must  be 
celibate;  the  rest  of  the  clergy  can  marry. 

Sacraments. — The  Greek  Church  is  strongly  ritu 
alistic  and  great  prominence  is  given  to  ceremonial- 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  57 

ism.  There  are  seven  sacraments:  baptism,  confir 
mation  or  anointing  with  sacred  oil  or  chrism,  eucha- 
rist,  confession,  orders,  marriage,  and  unction. 
There  is  infant  baptism  by  immersion  and  infant 
confirmation  and  communion.  Communion  is  par 
taken  in  both  elements  by  the  laity.  (The  church 
teaches  transubstantiation.)  Marriage  is  a  sacra 
ment  and  is  dissolved  only  through  infidelity: 
though  the  canon  law  allows  certain  other  grounds 
for  divorce.  Unction  is  not  confined  to  the  deathbed ; 
it  can  be  had  before  every  communion ;  and  in  time  of 
sickness  or  at  any  other  time. 

Separated  churches. — Partly  for  political  reasons 
and  partly  as  a  result  of  doctrinal  controversies  par 
ticularly  on  the  person  of  Christ  there  split  off  about 
the  5th  century  some  of  the  old  historical  oriental 
churches.  Thus  the  Nestorian  controversy,  431  A.D., 
concerning  the  relation  of  the  human  and  the  divine 
in  Christ,  resulted  in  the  separation  of  the  Nestorian 
Church  which  doctrine  tended  to  split  the  person 
of  Jesus  in  two.  The  opposite  view,  called  Monoph- 
ysitism,  taught  the  fusion  of  the  human  and  Di 
vine  into  one  nature.  As  a  result  of  the  controversy 
on  this  doctrine  the  Armenian,  called  the  Gregorian 
church,  the  Coptic  Church  in  Egypt  and  the  Jacobite 
in  Syria  were  separated.  Though  these  churches 
theoretically  cling  to  certain  old  formulae,  essentially 
and  in  reality  they  hold  the  same  Christology  as  the 
rest  of  the  Orthodox  Churches.  The  Monothelite 
controversy  concerning  the  nature  of  the  will  in 
Christ  as  human  and  divine  was  settled  in  the  Sixth 
Ecumenical  Council,  A.D.  680.  It  only  lingered  on 
among  the  Maronites  of  Lebanon  till  they  came  un 
der  the  sway  of  the  papacy. 

Filioque. — The  controversy  regarding  the  relation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  Father  and  the  Son  in  the 
Holy  Trinity  is  known  as  the  filioque  controversy 
from  the  addition  of  filioque  ("and  from  the  Son")> 


58  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

into  the  Mcene  Creed  by  the  Latin  or  the  Western 
Church.  It  is  a  most  difficult,  mysterious,  metaphys 
ical  topic  involving  the  study  and  investigation  of 
the  divine  psychology  and  the  interrelation  of  the 
powers  and  faculties  constituting  the  divine  nature, 
or  Deity.  And  yet  the  students  in  Greek  high 
schools  and  gymnasia  are  taught  them  in  their  cate 
chetical  or  religious  lessons,  and  Greeks  in  general 
discuss  the  filioque  controversy  with  interest.  It  is 
doubtful  if  many  cultured  Europeans  or  Americans 
would  pay  any  attention  to  it  nowadays.  The  con 
troversy  ultimately  resulted  in  the  split  of  the 
church  into  two  (A.D.  1054),  the  Eastern,  or  Byzan 
tine,  and  the  Western  or  Koman.  An  important 
contributing  cause  of  the  great  schism  was  the  re 
jection  of  the  pretensions  of  the  papacy  over  the 
Eastern  Church.  Catholicity  is  also  claimed  by  the 
Greek  Church. 

Image  controversy. — The  Seventh  Ecumenical 
Council  (787  A.D.)  dealt  with  the  Image  Contro 
versy  which  shook  the  church  severely  for  more  than 
a  century.  When  the  persecutions  in  the  early  Eo- 
man  Empire  ceased  (313  A.D.)  and  Constantine  the 
Great  established  Christianity  as  a  state  religion, 
the  doors  were  widely  opened  to  all,  and  many  con 
formed  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  church, 
outwardly,  without  a  real  conversion.  Again  when 
emperors  like  Theodosius  the  Great  persecuted  the 
heathen,  a  great  many  joined  the  church  formally 
while  retaining  their  old  practices  and  superstitions. 
Thus  the  world  entered  the  church. 

Greek  ideas  and  rites. — Besides  the  Greek  ideas, 
philosophy,  rhetoric,  drama,  the  old  mysteries  and 
other  rites  of  the  ancient  Hellenic  religion  greatly 
influenced  the  Christian  religion  in  the  formulation 
and  development  of  its  doctrines  and  practice.  ( See 
Hatch.)  . 

Archbishop  Meletios  Metaxakis,  late  Metropolitan 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  59 

of  Athens,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  United  States  in 
1918,  at  the  dinner  given  in  his  honor  by  the  Clergy 
Club  of  New  York,  said,  "What  was  best  in  the  old 
Greek  mysteries  and  theater  was  assimilated  and 
retained  by  the  Greek  Church." 

Greek  Puritans. — Thus  under  various  influences 
such  elements  and  practices  entered  the  church  that 
a  section  in4;he  seventh  century  objected  and  remon 
strated.  We  might  say  the  Puritans  in  the  Greek 
Church  started  the  fight  against  ritualism  and  cere 
monialism  as  well  as  the  icons  and  such  practices 
as  the  mediation  of  the  saints  and  worship  of  Virgin 
Mary  and  angels.  These  were  doubtless  the  forerun 
ners  of  the  Keformation  in  the  16th  century  as  Pro 
fessor  Paparregopoulas  of  Athens  University  ex 
plained  in  his  History  of  Greece. 

Their  later  influence. — Under  the  influence  of 
women  and  monks,  the  reform,  movement  was 
checked  and  the  Greeks  were  prevented  from  doing 
what  was  later  accomplished  by  the  Keformation. 
It  did  not,  however,  die  out  entirely,  as  its  traces 
continued  among  the  Catharists  in  Armenia,  the 
Bogomeles,  in  Bulgaria,  and  its  doctrines  and  in 
fluences  were  carried  through  merchants  to  France, 
which  resulted  in  the  movement  of  the  Albigenses. 

In  spite  of  the  suppression  of  the  Eeform  Party, 
Constantinople  continued  to  be  the  seat  of  learning, 
and  Greek  literature,  philosophy  and  theology  were 
expounded  there  throughout  the  medieval  period 
until  the  fall  of  Constantinople  (1453).  Though  no 
great  men  of  the  rank  of  the  ancient  writers,  philos 
ophers  or  theologians  appeared  during  this  period, 
still  there  were  prominent  men  able  to  teach  and 
expound  all  the  Greek  authors.  Upon  the  fall  of 
Constantinople,  the  leading,  learned  Greeks  escaped 
to  Europe  and  carried  the  knowledge  of  the  Greek 
art  and  language,  thus  starting  the  Renaissance. 

Turkish  conquests. — When  the  Keformation  be- 


60  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

gan  in  Germany  (1517)  the  Greek  Church  had  been 
plunged  into  its  era  of  slavery. 

Cyril  Lucaris. — Attempts  were  made  in  the  16th 
century  to  bring  about  an  understanding  between 
the  Greek  church  or  patriarchate  at  Constantinople, 
and  the  reformers.  Cyril  Lucaris,  Patriarch  of  Con 
stantinople,  is  the  leading  personage  in  this  matter. 
He  studied  in  Switzerland  and  was  taught  Calvinis- 
tic  Theology  and  was  in  sympathy  with  the  Kefpr- 
mation.  He  presented  the  Alexandrian  manuscript 
of  the  New  Testament  to  Charles  I  of  England,  and 
it  is  now  in  the  British  Museum  and  is  known  as 
M.S.  A.  He  was  elected  to  the  patriarchate  eight 
times  between  1612  and  1638.  He  was  not  allowed, 
however,  to  carry  out  any  comprehensive  reform 
movement,  as  through  the  machinations  of  the 
Jesuits,  he  was  strangled  and  his  body  was  dragged 
through  the  streets  by  the  Jews.  There  is  a  creed 
with  the  name  of  Cyril,  although  some  without  suffi 
cient  ground  doubted  its  genuineness.  His  attitude 
to  all  the  Beformation  doctrines  was  sympathetic. 
The  attitude  of  the  Greek  Church  towards  the  re 
form  or  Protestant  positions  was  discussed  and 
formulated  in  a  Council  of  the  Patriarchs  at  Jerusa 
lem,  1672  A.D.,  and  was  given  summarily  in  its  de 
cisions.  The  same  can  be  seen  in  the  Confession 
of  Faith  by  Dositheos,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem.  See 
Schaff  's  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Christendom. 

Greek  and  Anglican  Churches. — The  Anglican 
Church  has  approached,  more  than  once,  the  patri 
archate  at  Constantinople  for  the  union  of  the  two 
churches.  The  Greeks  have  always  been  friendly 
and  sympathetic  to  the  Anglicans,  but  they  would 
not  make  any  doctrinal  concessions  for  the  sake  of 
union.  They  would  simply  welcome  the  Anglicans, 
if  they  wanted  to  unite  with  the  Greek  Church.  The 
utmost  cordiality  and  a  feeling  of  mutual  apprecia 
tion  prevails  between  the  Church  of  England  and 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  61 

the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United 
States  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Greek  Orthodox 
Church  on  the  other. 

Dark  Ages  of  Greece. — The  Dark  Ages  of  the 
Greeks  and  the  Greek  Church  began  with  Turkish 
rule  and  oppression.  Many  regard  this  period,  from 
the  15th  century  to  the  19th,  as  that  of  decadence, 
and  they  blame  the  Greek  Church  for  lack  of  vitality, 
activity,  and  spirituality.  It  is  true  there  were  great 
defects  and  want  of  spirituality  among  many  of  the 
leaders.  There  was  no  aggressive  missionary  work; 
the  clergy  were  uneducated  and  the  people  illiterate. 
The  church  had  been  losing  ground  or  at  the  utmost 
it  endeavored  to  hold  its  own.  When,  however,  we 
consider  the  unparalleled  trials  which  the  church 
passed  through  during  these  long  centuries  of  op 
pression  and  persecution,  it  is  really  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  Christian  name  survived  at  all.  The 
whole  Christian  Church  might  have  been  wiped  out 
throughout  the  Turkish  Empire  as  it  was  in  North 
Africa.  The  Greek  and  Armenian  horrors  during 
1915-1921  at  the  hands  of  the  Young  Turks  demon 
strate  that  the  Turks  might  have  annihilated  all  the 
Christians,  but  happily  they  have  not  succeeded. 

Privileges  of  the  patriarchate. — Certain  arrange 
ments  have  helped  the  preservation  and  continuance 
of  the  Christian  name  and  religion.  Mohammed  II, 
the  conqueror  of  Constantinople,  A.D.  1453,  gave  the 
Greek  patriarch  certain  privileges  that  enhanced  the 
authority  of  the  church  and  helped  preserve  the  in 
tegrity  and  safety  of  the  Greeks  and  all  the  other 
non-Moslem  races,  the  same  privileges  were  later 
extended  to  Armenians,  Jews,  and  others.  Through 
such  privileges,  the  patriarchate  has  authority  and 
control  over  the  clergy,  in  questions  of  wills,  mar 
riage,  divorce  and  education.  Thus  there  was  estab 
lished  a  state  within  the  state. 

This  gave  a  status  of  double  dignity  and  authority 


62  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

to  the  patriarch  as  the  head  of  the  Greek  race  as 
well  as  the  church.  He  held  a  position  similar  to 
that  of  the  Jewish  high  priest  under  the  Romans. 

This  helped  the  Greeks  to  keep  their  language, 
customs,  rites  and  traditions  as  a  race  in  the  midst 
of  trying  circumstances.  They  feel  they  owe  it  to 
the  influence  of  their  church.  Church  and  race  be 
ing  identified,  the  Greek  Church  has  become  the  sym 
bol  of  nationality  in  the  estimation  of  the  Greek 
people.  The  threads  of  religion  and  nationality  are 
so  woven  that  it  becomes  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  separate  them.  The  one  cannot  be  touched  with 
out  affecting  the  other.  Many  religious  observances, 
customs,  festivals,  usages  are  rather  national  affairs. 
The  bishop  and  the  priests,  like  the  patriarch,  are 
national,  as  well  as  religious  leaders.  In  spite  of 
the  ignorance  of  many  priests  at  present,  the  people 
esteem  them  as  they  see  in  them  the  priest  who 
taught  the  children  in  cellars  at  night  the  Greek 
language,  and  kept  the  torch  of  patriotism  burning 
in  the  darkness  of  Turkish  tyranny. 

Protestant  missions  to  the  Greeks. — We  see  the 
above  points  illustrated  in  the  Protestant  mission 
ary  work  among  the  Greeks.  Protestant  mission 
aries  were  sent  to  the  East  early  in  the  19th  century 
by  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  mainly  to 
evangelize  the  Mohammedans  and  the  Jews.  The 
doors  were  closed  to  the  Moslems.  No  Moslem  was 
allowed  to  profess  Christianity  openly.  Thus  the 
missionaries  turned  their  attention  to  the  various 
Christian  races  or  churches,  as  Greeks,  Armenians, 
Syrians,  etc.,  who  had  all  been  oppressed  under  the 
Turk  and  left  in  ignorance  and  darkness  through 
want  of  education.  Although  they  had  kept  the 
Christian  name  and  customs,  they  often  lacked  its 
spiritual  and  moral  influence  in  their  daily  life. 

Educational  work. — Thus  missionaries  went  to 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  63 

Greece,  soon  after  independence  was  established, 
and  opened  schools,  published  text-books  and  other 
literature,  and  were  welcomed  everywhere.  The  Hill 
School  for  girls,  founded  by  Dr.  Hill,  sent  out  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  continues  to  the  pres 
ent  day  to  be  held  in  highest  esteem  as  an  educa 
tional  center.  Keligious  instruction  is  given  by  rep 
resentatives  of  the  Greek  Church. 

Controversies. — But  other  missionaries  along 
with  the  work  of  education  and  enlightenment 
started  controversies  by  discussing  points  of  differ 
ence  between  Protestants  and  Orthodox,  and  a  bitter 
opposition  was  aroused  which  prejudiced  the  people 
against  the  missionaries,  except  those  of  the  Protes 
tant  Episcopal  Church,  who  never  attempted  to  make 
proselytes. 

Jonas  King. — Mr.  Jonas  King,  the  American 
Board  missionary  in  Greece,  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  controversies  both  by  publication  and  oral  teach 
ing  and  discussions.  The  opposition  against  him 
was  so  bitter  that  he  was  anathematized  by  the 
Greek  Church  and  condemned  by  the  government  to 
leave  Greece. 

M.  D.  Kalopothakes. — Protestant  work  in  Greece 
was  continued  by  Dr.  M.  D.  Kalopothakes,  who 
worked  for  a  time  under  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Board  and  after  1887  independently.  He  was  a 
fighter  and  controversialist.  He  was  instrumental 
in  organizing  the  Greek  Evangelical  Church  in 
Athens  in  1874,  where  he  preached  and  taught  the 
gospel  regularly  till  his  death  in  1912.  He  was 
agent  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  and 
was  instrumental  in  distributing  the  Scriptures 
throughout  Greece.  He  founded  in  1859  The  Star 
of  the  East,  a  religious  weekly,  the  oldest  paper  in 
Greece.  Its  publication  ceased  during  the  war. 
It  has  been  started  again  recently.  He  edited  the 


64  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Children's  Paper,  a  most  useful  illustrated  monthly 
that  continued  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  stopped  for  lack  of  funds,  though  it  had  a  wide 
circulation.  He  published  many  tracts  and  leaflets, 
mostly  translations  from  English  adapted  to  Greek 
needs,  including  some  important  books,  such  as  Out 
lines  of  Christian  Theology,  by  A.  Hodge;  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  Catechism,  etc.  Dr.  Kalopothakes  con 
ducted  with  great  success  an  excellent  girls'  school 
in  Athens,  attended  by  the  children  of  the  most 
prominent  Greek  families.  But  as  the  directors 
would  not  comply  with  the  demand  of  the  Greek 
government  under  Deliyannis  that  religious  instruc 
tion  in  the  school  be  entrusted  to  a  priest  of  the 
Orthodox  Church  and  the  icon  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
be  put  up  in  the  auditorium  or  chapel,  the  school 
was  closed ! 

The  Evangelical  Church  in  Greece. — The  Evan 
gelical  Church  of  Greece  has  now  churches  or  preach 
ing  centers  in  Athens,  Piraeus,  Volo  (Thessaly), 
Yanina  (Epirus),  Salonica,  Drama,  and  Serres 
(Macedonia).  Owing  to  lack  of  workers  and  funds, 
some  of  the  churches  or  centers  are  without  settled 
pastors.  Systematic  work  is  being  done  under  pas 
tors  in  Athens  and  Salonica,  with  preaching,  Sunday 
school  and  other  services.  The  Presbyterian  sys 
tem  of  church  government  is  followed  by  the 
churches  and  they  constitute  the  Synod  of  the  Evan 
gelical  Church  of  Greece.  There  is  a  day  nursery 
in  Salonica  for  orphans  and  other  poor  children, 
under  the  Evangelical  Church,  open  to  all  irre 
spective  of  creed  or  race. 

Plymouth  Brethren. — The  Plymouth  Brethren 
have  a  mission  in  Athens  and  hold  Sunday  and  week 
day  meetings.  Similarly  there  is  some  work  in 
Patras.  Bible  colporteurs  visit  many  centers 
throughout  Greece  and  do  very  successful  work. 

Crete    has    various    centers,    especially    Canea, 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  65 

where  Evangelicals  hold  meetings.  The  main  leader 
is  under  Eussellite  influence  and  endeavors  to  spread 
Eussellite  literature  and  teachings. 

The  number  of  all  the  Evangelicals  or  Protestants 
in  Greece  is  only  several  hundred,  and  there  are  but 
a  few  more  Eoman  Catholics.  Church  services  of 
the  Evangelical  or  Protestant  Greeks  are  conducted 
in  modern  Greek,  those  of  the  Greek  Orthodox,  ex 
cept  the  sermon,  in  ancient  Greek.  The  Protestant 
hymn  book  has  a  few  original  hymns,  but  most  of 
them  are  translations  from  the  English.  One  of  the 
greatest  hymn  writers  and  translators  was  Dr.  Elias 
Eiggs  of  the  American  Board.  He  knew  18  lan 
guages,  and  Greek  was  second  nature. 

Protestantism  in  Turkey. — The  Protestant  work 
in  Turkey,  mainly  among  the  Greeks  and  Armenians, 
is  under  the  American  Board.  A  number  of  Greek 
Evangelical  Churches  have  been  established  with 
regular  Sunday  and  weekday  services,  including 
Sunday  schools,  and  in  the  interior,  day  schools. 
As  the  education  of  the  children  is  left  to  the  re 
ligious  communities,  every  denomination  has  to  pro 
vide  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  its  mem 
bers.  But  through  war  and  other  ravages  the  whole 
work  has  been  interrupted  and  in  many  places  de 
stroyed.  There  were  Greek  Evangelical  churches 
or  preaching  centers  in  Constantinople,  Smyrna, 
Manisa,  Baindir,  Ak-Hissar,  in  the  Smyrna 
region;  Ordu,  Fatsa,  Samsun,  Alacham,  and  a 
number  of  villages  in  the  Black  Sea  region; 
Derekioy,  Iskili  in  the  Marsovan  region;  and  a  few 
other  places  in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor. 

Greek  Evangelical  Alliance:  Dr.  George  Constan- 
tine. — Many  of  these  churches  are  members  of  the 
Greek  Evangelical  Alliance  in  Smyrna  founded  by 
Dr.  George  Constantine,  an  eloquent  preacher  and 
author  of  a  number  of  standard  theological  works 
in  Greek,  a  Commentary  on  the  Four  Gospels,  and 


66  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

a  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  The  work  is  now  in 
charge  of  Dr.  Xenophon  Moschou,  who  is  also  the 
author  of  a  Commentary  on  Galatians,  a  catechism 
and  a  number  of  tracts,  hymns  and  addresses  or 
sermons.  He  has  also  translated  Liddel  and  Scott 's 
Greek  Lexicon  into  modern  Greek. 

The  number  of  all  the  evangelical  Greeks  in  what 
was  Turkey  was  probably  several  thousand.  Many 
young  men  escaped  to  the  United  States  owing  to 
military  oppression  and  deportation,  thus  a  great 
blow  was  given  to  all  the  newly  starting  congrega 
tions. 

Results. — "The  number  of  the  Evangelical  Greeks 
in  the  world  is  insignificant  and  the  direct  result 
of  the  whole  movement  to  organize  a  separate  Prot 
estant  body  is  rather  small  and  discouraging.  The 
indirect  results,  however,  have  been  very  great  and 
significant.  There  is  a  vast  number  of  men  and 
women  within  the  Greek  Church  who  are  sympa 
thizers  with  Evangelical  principles  and  who  wish  to 
make  their  church  a  more  up-to-date  institution,  a 
greater  power  for  spiritual  and  moral  influence  in 
the  life  of  the  people,  but  who  do  not  want  to  be 
called  Protestants,  or  leave  their  church  connection 
and  join  a  separate  new  denomination.  Thus  there 
is  a  strong  reform  party  within  the  Greek  Church, 
and  the  main  or  best  work  of  the  evangelical  Greeks 
has  been  to  stimulate  and  strengthen  it."  There 
are  leading  bishops  and  other  clergymen  as  well  as 
laymen  who  are  planning  for  reform  in  the  churches. 
Archbishop  Meletios  Metaxakis,  Metropolitan  of 
Athens;  Bishop  Chrysostom  of  Smyrna;  Bishop 
Chrysostom  of  Philadelphia,  and  many  others  are 
of  the  reform  school. 

Among  other  reasons  for  the  preference  of  many 
evangelically  inclined  to  remain  with  the  church  of 
their  fathers  is  the  fear  of  Greek  leaders  that  to 
weaken  the  Greek  church  would  mean  a  blow  to 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  67 

Greek  nationalism  and  might  endanger  the  cause 
of  Greece,  the  aspiration  to  emancipate  the  Greek 
race  from  the  Turkish  yoke.  Of  course  this  fear  is 
not  well  founded,  as  Greek  nationality  is  not  coex 
tensive  with  Eastern  Greek  Orthodoxy.  There  are 
over  a  hundred  million  of  the  Orthodox  Church  who 
are  not  Greeks,  as  Kussians,  Serbs,  Kumanians,  etc., 
and  the  Protestant  Greeks  demonstrated  repeatedly 
that  they  are  as  patriotic  and  truly  Greek  as  their 
Orthodox  brethren  and  compatriots. 

Religious  classification  in  Turkey. — Still  there 
was  some  ground  for  this  fear  in  the  fact  that  the 
Turkish  Government  ignored  race  distinction  and 
classified  the  people  by  their  denominational  or  re 
ligious  connections;  thus  there  were  Moslems,  com 
prising  Turks,  Kurds,  Circassians,  Arabs,  Albanians, 
etc.,  and  non-Moslems,  comprising  the  Christians 
and  the  Jews.  The  Christians  were  classified  as  (1) 
Greeks,  comprising  all  the  adherents  of  the  Greek 
Church,  Albanian,  Bulgarian,  Syrian,  etc.,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  Greek  race  and  speech;  (2)  Arme 
nians,  race  and  church  membership  coinciding;  (3) 
Catholics,  mostly  Armenians,  some  Greeks,  Syrians, 
and  Levantines,  and  (4)  Protestants,  some  Arme 
nians,  some  Greeks  and  Syrians.  Now  all  these 
groups  were  regarded  as  distinct  nationalities  with 
separate  patriarchs,  as  the  head  of  each.  The  Prot 
estant  chancery  was  regarded  as  equivalent  to 
other  patriarchates  and  had  the  same  privileges  and 
functions.  When  any  one,  Armenian,  Greek,  Syrian, 
becomes  Protestant  he  has  to  cut  off  his  connection 
from  his  church  and  nationality  and  join  the  Prot 
estant  nationality.  It  was  something  more  radical 
and  significant  than  changing  denominations  in 
America. 

The  missionary  work  in  the  Near  East  has  been 
in  late  years  mainly  educational.  Though  at  first 
the  Greeks  were  averse  to  missionary  institutions, 


68  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

they  now  form  the  majority  of  the  student  body 
in  Eobert  College,  the  International  College, 
Smyrna,  and  Anatolia  College,  Marsovan.  They  at 
tend  in  large  numbers  the  Constantinople  College 
for  Girls ;  St.  Paul  Institute,  Tarsus ;  American  Ag 
ricultural  School,  Salonica;  and  other  American 
schools  in  the  Near  East.  M<any  are  studying  in 
the  American  University,  Beirut,  Syria.  Similarly 
the  American  hospitals  are  much  patronized  by 
Greeks  in  the  Near  East. 

These  institutions  are  rendering  a  great  service 
in  building  up  the  character  of  those  who  come  un 
der  their  influence,  thus  strengthening  the  reform 
party's  wish  that  the  Church  may  become  a  more 
efficient  spiritual  power  in  the  life  of  the  people. 

Reform  not  doctrinal. — By  "reform,"  however, 
almost  all  mean  certain  practical  improvements 
rather  than  any  doctrinal  changes.  As  regards  doc 
trine  they  hold  the  Greek  Church  to  be  Orthodox. 
They  want  an  Erasmian  type  of  reform,  such  as, 
better  educated  clergy,  shortening  of  the  services, 
better  and  more  edifying  preaching,  marriage  of 
the  bishops,  diminution  of  fast  days,  etc. 

Joakim  III,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Patri 
archs  of  Constantinople  in  recent  years,  was  of  the 
reform  party.  There  are  various  organizations 
whose  purpose  is  to  enlighten  and  educate  the  people 
in  things  spiritual  and  in  orthodoxy.  Such  are 
Anaplasis  in  Athens,  with  a  periodical  of  the  same 
name;  Eusevia  (piety)  in  Smyrna;  Anorthosis  in 
Constantinople  (the  young  Turks  closed  it  during 
the  war),  and  others  in  other  places,  whose  program 
is  almost  the  same. 

Apart  from  Protestant  influence,  there  had  been 
certain  separatist  movements,  from  the  Orthodox 
Church  in  the  19th  century  in  Greece.  Such  was 
the  Theosophist  movement  of  Kaires,  the  Society 
of  Makrakis  and  his  followers,  but  they  have  not 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  69 

bad  any  lasting  effect.  Neither  at  present  is  there 
any  organized  separatist  movement  among  the 
Greeks. 

Greeks  religious. — No  Greek  wishes  to  be  re 
garded  as  irreligious,  whatever  be  his  personal  feel 
ings  or  convictions  about  religion.  There  are  many 
educated  Greeks  who  lean  to  materialism  or  agnos 
ticism. 

Inquirers. — The  cultured,  thinking  Greek  young 
men  are  occupied  with  the  same  metaphysical  and 
philosophical  problems  and  questions  as  the  intelli 
gent,  cultured  minds  in  the  American  colleges  and 
universities. 

Influence  of  the  church. — But  there  is  no  formal 
breaking  away  from  the  church.  All  Greeks  except 
ing  Koman  Catholics  and  Protestants  are  supposed 
to  be  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church.  Church  con 
nection  with  the  Greeks  is  like  citizenship  in  the 
United  States.  The  church  takes  hold  of  the  in 
dividual  from  his  birth  until  his  death,  and  meets 
him  at  every  step.  Birth,  marriage,  burial  and 
many  other  circumstances  bring  the  individual  man 
to  the  church.  To  be  beyond  the  pale  of  the  church 
is  like  being  outlawed  in  a  civilized  country. 

Although  the  Greek  Church  is  the  state  religion 
in  Greece,  other  denominations  and  religions  enjoy 
perfect  freedom  and  tolerance  though  legal  stand 
ing  is  denied  Greek  Protestants. 

Koman  Catholics,  Moslems,  and  Jews  have  every 
protection  and  freedom  to  observe  their  religious 
customs  and  rites.  The  Mohammedan  imam  or 
muezzin  calls  the  people  to  prayer  from  the  minarets 
in  Thessaly,  Salonica,  etc.,  as  in  the  days  of  Turkish 
rule.  In  fact  the  government  pays -the  salaries  of 
the  non-Orthodox  clergy  as  that  of  the  Orthodox 
clergy. 

Greek  Protestants  restricted. — With  Protestants 
the  situation  is  somewhat  different.  The  European 


70  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

and  American  Protestants,  e.g.,  the  Lutheran  and 
Anglicans,  had  perfect  freedom.  But  the  Greek 
Protestants  are  looked  down  upon  as  unpatriotic 
and  sneered  at  if  not  openly  persecuted.  In  Piraeus 
a  mob  attacked  the  Protestant  church  and  burned 
it  in  1888,  and  Dr.  Kalppothakes  and  others  escaped 
lynching  or  stoning  with  great  difficulty. 

The  Greek  Protestants  have  really  no  legal  stand 
ing.  Their  marriages  are  not  regarded  as  legal 
unless  performed  by  a  priest  of  the  Orthodox 
Church.  It  was  hoped  that  the  enlightened  policy 
of  the  Liberal  government  under  Venizelos  would 
rectify  all  these  inequalities.  In  fact  steps  were  be 
ing  taken  to  remedy  them  before  its  fall. 

The  pastor  of  the  Protestant  church  at  Salonica, 
Eev.  A.  Mihitsopoulos,  and  the  missionary,  Eev. 
Jas.  A.  Brewster,  are  authorized  to  celebrate  mar 
riages  by  the  Greek  government  as  they  were  under 
the  Turkish  government. 

The  Liberal  government  invited  the  American 
missionaries  to  continue  their  educational  and  other 
missionary  work  in  Smyrna  and  promised  to  give 
them  every  facility.  The  same  attitude  is  kept 
by  the  present  government.  In  1918,  Venizelos  in 
vited  the  Trustees  of  Eobert  College  to  open  a  sim 
ilar  American  College  in  Athens,  the  Greek  govern 
ment  promising  to  grant  free  land  to  the  institution. 

Translation  of  the  N.  T.  into  modern  Greek. — 
There  is  a  topic  that  drew  much  attention  and 
caused  much  adverse  criticism  in  missionary  and 
evangelical  circles,  i.e.,  the  question  of  the  transla 
tion  of  the  New  Testament  into  modern  Greek.  By 
an  act  of  the  Holy  Synod  of  Greece,  1901  A.D.,  the 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  from  the  original 
into  modern  Greek  was  forbidden.  It  was  the  pub 
lication  of  a  translation  of  the  gospels  into  demotic 
Greek  or  "  slang"  in  the  Aeropolis,  a  prominent 
Athenian  daily,  that  aroused  the  student  body  in 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUND  71 

the  University  of  Athens  with  the  result  that  there 
was  a  riot  in  the  streets  with  bloodshed.  Corrupt 
politicians  made  political  capital  out  of  it.  The 
cabinet  fell  and  the  Synod  put  the  ban  on  all  trans 
lations  of  the  1ST.  T.  into  modern  Greek.  But  the 
whole  thing  was  a  linguistic  and  political  question 
rather  than  religious.  The  purists  feared  they 
might  lose  ground  and  the  sacred  language  of  the 
original  New  Testament  might  be  desecrated  by 
translation.  The  Synod  held  that  the  original  New 
Testament  Greek  was  as  clear  and  intelligible  to  the 
people  as  any  translation,  which  is  not  the  case. 

Under  the  Venizelist  government  the  Scriptures 
were  circulated  in  translations  in  spite  of  the  ban 
still  in  force.  Both  the  government  and  the  Synod 
were  planning  to  abolish  the  ban  with  the  first  op 
portunity.  The  present  government  is  enforcing  the 
ban,  but  there  is  reason  to  hope  a  more  liberal  pol 
icy  will  prevail  in  the  end.  Besides  the  ban  is  for 
the  old  kingdom  of  Greece,  and  does  not  apply  to 
regions  that  were  once  Turkey. 

"When  Archbishop  Meletios  Metaxakis  visited  the 
United  States  in  1918  he  told  me  he  would  have  no 
objection  to  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  but 
welcomed  it,  and  would  do  the  same  to  translations. 
He  said  he  would  prefer  that  the  Bible  societies  in 
Britain  or  America  should  cooperate  with  the  Holy 
Synod  of  Greece,  helping  it  to  print  and  circulate 
them  with  its  sanction.  He  thought  the  Synod  would 
gladly  undertake  the  translation.  At  the  headquar 
ters  of  the  American  Bible  Society  he  reiterated  his 
views  and  wishes  in  bidding  farewell  to  Dr.  "W.  I. 
Haven,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  society,  before 
he  sailed  for  Constantinople  when  he  was  elected 
patriarch. 

There  is  no  doubt  the  Greek  Church  does  not  bar 
the  Scriptures  or  any  part  of  them,  as  such. 

The  Greeks  were  lukewarm  at  first,  if  not  actively 


72  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

opposed,  even  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  associating  it  with 
Protestant  propaganda  work. 

But  since  they  came  into  touch  with  its  good 
work  at  the  Macedonian  front,  especially  at  Salonica, 
the  Greek  government  and  the  church  invited  the 
International  Committee  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  start 
work  among  the  Greek  soldiers,  and  now  there  is 
the  Greek  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  not  only  for  soldiers  but  also 
for  civilians.  The  work  will  grow  and  extend  itself 
in  many  directions.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  men  are  wel 
comed  everywhere  and  held  in  great  esteem  and  their 
work  is  much  appreciated.  King  Constantine  has 
decorated  some  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers  in  Greece, 
as  Venizelos  also  had  done. 

Y.  W.  C.  A.— There  has  been  some  Y.  W.  C.  A. 
work  in  Athens  in  a  limited  sphere  for  years. 
The  leaders  are  anxious  that  the  American  or  British 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  take  up  the  work  and  develop  it.  There 
is  no  doubt  the  same  welcome  awaits  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 
as  that  accorded  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Greece. 


Chapter  II 
THE  GKEEKS  IN  AMERICA 

IMMIGRATION 

Greek  immigrants. — Greek  immigrants  first  set 
tled  in  the  eastern  states,  especially  New  York  and 
Massachusetts.  Gradually  they  spread  to  other 
states  and  now  there  is  scarcely  a  town  in  which 
Greeks  are  not  represented. 

Number  of  Greeks  in  United  States.— The  esti 
mate  of  their  number  varies  between  300,000  and 
500,000.  The  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Immigration 
puts  the  number  as  350,000,  though  Greek  estimates 
put  it  at  least  as  400,000  and  often  as  many  as  500,- 
000.  Of  these  they  estimate  45,000  to  50,000  to  be  in 
Massachusetts.  This  would  make  the  Greek  popula 
tion  of  the  entire  state  not  far  from  one-seventh  of 
that  of  the  entire  country.  It  has  been  estimated  to 
be  also  about  two-thirds  of  that  in  all  New  England. 

The  census  of  1920  gives  175,972  foreign-born 
Greeks  in  the  United  States.  Adding  20  percent — 
a  generous  estimate — for  children  of  those  born 
here,  gives  211,166  of  what  the  census  classifies  as 
\' foreign  white  stock. "  Of  these  38,574  are  found 
in  New  England  and  24,122  in  Massachusetts. 
Grandchildren  of  foreign-born  are  classified  as  na 
tive-born  Americans.  Later  reports  will  verify  or 
increase  these  figures. 

Greek  communities. — As  soon  as  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  Greeks  gather  in  a  city,  they  form  a  com 
munity — Greek  or  Hellenic  Orthodox  community. 
Each  community  has  its  president,  vice-president, 
secretary,  treasurer  and  other  councillors  and  all, 

73 


74.  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

laymen,  thus  showing  the  democratic  character  of 
the  organization.  They  secure  a  priest  through  the 
office  of  the  bishop  in  New  York.  With  the  first  op 
portunity  they  buy  or  build  a  church,  usually  of 
Byzantine  style.  If  unable  to  do  this,  they  hire  a 
hall  or  a  church. 

According  to  the  list  supplied  by  the  office  of 
Bishop  Alexander  Eodostolou,  delegate  of  the  Holy 
Synod,  of  Greece  in  America,  there  were  134  com 
munities  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  The 
Greeks  have  penetrated  into  the  South,  and  Middle 
West  with  prominent  communities  in  Ohio,  Illinois, 
Indiana,  and  Missouri.  They  have  gone  still  further 
into  California  and  Washington  with  flourishing 
churches  in  San  Francisco,  Los  Angeles,  and  Seattle. 
Usually  all  Greeks  are  regarded  as  members  or  ad 
herents  of  the  church  where  they  reside.  But  as 
the  directors  of  the  church  are  elected  by  the  con 
tributors,  the  members  given  in  any  list  do  not  cover 
all  the  Greeks  residing  in  a  particular  place. 

Greeks  scattered  in  United  States. — The  Bishops' 
list  gave  only  the  places  where  the  Greeks  have  or 
ganized  communities ;  but  they  are  scattered,  far  and 
wide,  in  varying  numbers  into  many  other  places. 
At  Christmas,  1919,  I  sent  out  some  50,000  appeals 
to  the  Greek  communities,  subscribers  of  certain 
Greek  papers,  and  the  customers  of  a  number  of 
wholesale  Greek  merchants  in  New  York,  on  behalf 
of  Greek  Belief  Work.  The  answers  that  came  were 
extremely  interesting  and  surprising.  In  East 
Bapids,  Mich.,  there  were  only  two  Greeks  and  both 
contributed.  In  other  places  there  were  10,  20,  or 
more  Greeks.  Often  an  individual  or  a  number  of 
them  forming  a  committee  collected  contributions 
from  others,  thus  there  came  a  list  with  50  or  more, 
sometimes  rising  to  several  hundreds  of  names.  The 
largest  communities  are  in  New  York  City  with  25,- 
000,  including  Brooklyn.  They  are  scattered  all  over 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  75 

the  city  and  even  in  the  suburbs.  Chicago,  HI.,  has 
13,000;  Lowell,  Mass.,  4,500;  San  Francisco,  Cal., 
3,800;  St.  Louis,  2,500;  Boston,  Mass.,  3,500;  Man 
chester,  N.  H.,  3,500;  Akron,  0.,  2,300;  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  2,000;  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  2,000;  Washington, 
D.  C.,  2,000;  Seattle,  Wash.,  1,550;  Canton,  0.,  2,000; 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  1,500;  Lynn,  Mass.,  1,900;  Cleveland, 
O.,  1,800;  Gary,  Ind.,  1,550;  Monessen,  Pa.,  2,000; 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  1,400;  Youngstown,  0.,  1,500; 
Weirton,  W.  Va.,  1,200;  Peabody,  Mass.,  1,450; 
Bridgeport,  Conn.,  1,000;  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  1,150; 
Nashua,  N.  H.,  1,200;  Toledo,  0.,  750;  Springfield, 
Mass.,  1,050;  Worcester,  Mass.,  800;  Newark,  N.  J., 
1,150?  Oakland,  Cal.,  1,000;  Baltimore,  Md.,  800; 
Portland,  Ore.,  1,000;  Tarpon  Springs,  Fla.,  1,000; 
Denver,  Col.,  850;  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  650;  Norfolk, 
Va.,  750;  cities  with  600-700— Beading,  Pa.;  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah;  New  Bedford,  Mass.;  Indianap 
olis,  Ind.;  Sioux  City,  la.;  with  400-600— E.  Chi 
cago,  Ind.;  Omaha,  Neb.;  Wheeling,  W.  Va.; 
North  Platte,  Neb. ;  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. ;  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.;  Kochester,  N.  Y.;  Jersey  City,  N.  J.;  Ft. 
Wayne,  Ind. ;  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Columbus,  0. ;  Ma 
son  City,  la.;  Providence,  E.  I.;  Bethlehem,  Pa.; 
with  250-400— New  Haven,  Conn. ;  Hartford,  Conn. ; 
Tacoma,  Wash.;  Pawtucket,  E.  I.;  Dayton,  0.;  Lo- 
rain,  0.;  Warren,  0.;  Kansas  City,  Kas.;  Stamford, 
Conn. 

Addresses  change  frequently. — One  of  the  main 
difficulties  in  finding  the  number  of  Greeks  in  a 
given  place  is  the  fact  that  those  working  in  mills 
and  factories  move  about  from  place  to  place  accord 
ing  to  the  work  and  wages  they  find.  Addresses 
change  very  frequently.  Letters  of  acknowledg 
ment  sent  to  the  address  of  the  contributor  im 
mediately  upon  the  receipt  of  his  contribution  come 
back  with  the  stamp  "Unknown."  A  contributor 
from  Philadelphia  goes  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  is 


76  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

>. 

next  heard  from  in  Albany  or  it  may  be  Akron,  or 
Canton,  Ohio.  Even  in  the  same  city,  especially 
in  New  York,  addresses  are  changed  so  frequently 
that  it  is  discouraging  to  attempt  to  make  a  card 
file,  with  the  exception  of  certain  prominent  mer 
chants,  professional  men  and  traders,  who  have  per 
manent  addresses.  The  case  of  the  priests  is  also 
discouraging,  as  many  are  shifted  from  one  charge 
to  another  or  go  back  to  Greece. 

Family  groups  and  men  with  families. — The  early 
immigrants  were  almost  all  men,  single  or  married, 
who  had  left  their  families  behind  in  their  home 
land.  But  gradually  women  began  to  join  them,  and 
their  number  has  been  growing  from  year  to  year. 
From  1882  to  1886  503  men  and  but  45  women  en 
tered  and  settled  in  New  York.  From  the  annual 
reports  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  Immigra 
tion  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1910-1919,  we 
learn  that  the  number  of  unmarried  Greek  male 
immigrants  from  14  to  44  years  of  age  was  144,827, 
married  71,970,  and  widowers  403.  From  45  years 
and  older  the  numbers  were  single,  410,  married 
6,887,  widowers  230.  In  the  same  period  the  num 
ber  of  married  women  14  to  44  years  was  14,126, 
married  10,168,  widows  653.  From  45  years  and 
older  the  numbers  were  single  30,  married  1,056  and 
widows  881.  The  single  women  from  14  to  21  years 
numbered  8,577,  22  to  29  years  4,735,  30  to  37  years 
561,  and  38  to  44  years  89. 

is  not  far  from  the  truth  to  say  that  20  per 
cent  of  the  Greeks  in  America  have  their  families 
with  them;  the  rest  are  either  unmarried  or  have 
left  their  families  in  the  homeland.  The  number 
of  families  has  been  growing  lately,  both  by  mar 
riages  in  United  States  and  married  men  bring 
ing  over  their  families  from  Greece  or  Turkey. 
Men  came  alone  for  economic  reasons,  as  sums  of 
money  insignificant  in  the  United  States  were  of 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  77 

great  value  and  service  on  the  other  side.     They 
worked  in  the  United  States  and  sent  money  home. 


RETURN  MOVEMENT  TO  GREECE 

Rush  to  return. — As  soon  as  the  armistice  was 
signed  (Nov.  11,  1918)  there  was  a  rush  to  return 
to  Greece.  Many  Greeks  went  back  to  the  Smyrna 
region,  Constantinople  and  even  to  some  parts  of 
Thrace  and  Asia  Minor.  Many  more  are  waiting 
anxiously  for  the  settlement  of  conditions  in  Turkey 
in  order  to  return  to  their  home  lands. 

Reasons. — This  rush  was  mainly  due  to  the  fact 
that  people  were  barred  from  visiting  their  rela 
tives  and  friends  during  the  war,  as  they  used  to 
do  in  normal  times.  This  desire  to  return,  however, 
was  not  in  many  cases  coupled  with  the  intention 
to  leave  the  United  States  permanently.  In  fact 
many  of  those  who  went  back  are  already  returning. 

According  to  the  Greek  press,  10  to  20  percent  of 
the  Greeks  in  various  localities  are  planning  to  re 
turn  as  soon  as  conditions  in  the  Near  East  <are. 
settled. 

Some  of  the  estimates  sent  me  from  various 
regions  are  as  follows:  From  Haverhill,  Mass.,  25 
percent,  for  family  ties;  Dayton,  Ohio,  5  percent; 
Peabody,  Mass.,  50  percent,  for  improved  conditions 
in  Europe;  Washington,  D.  C.,  10  percent  to  visit 
relatives;  Springfield,  Mass.,  20  per  cent;  Ansonia, 
Conn.,  50  percent,  mostly  refugees ;  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
25  percent,  mostly  for  a  visit.  Eventually  most  of 
them  will  come  back,  bringing  others. 

Similar  estimates  were  given  by  many  leaders 
whom  I  interviewed.  Here  are  one  or  two  typical 
expressions  of  opinion  on  this  subject:  Dr.  P.  P. 
Nicholas  of  New  York  said,  "All  Greeks  come  to 
America  with  the  intention  of  returning.  They  want 
to  make  money  and  return  as  soon  as  they  can  man- 


78  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

age  it.  But  they  soon  get  so  entangled  in  business 
and  prosper  that  they  cannot  leave  America  even 
if  they  wished/' 

By  Dr.  Theodore  Ion:  "The  Greek  people  who 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  either  from  free  or 
enslaved  Greece  did  not  come  with  the  intention  of 
making  it  their  permanent  home.  They  come  here 
as  they  go  to  other  parts  of  the  world  like  Egypt, 
South  Africa,  South  America,  Europe,  etc.  The 
only  difference  between  the  Greek  immigrants  here 
and  those  in  other  countries  is  that  they  come  to 
this  country  in  very  large  numbers,  while  Greek 
immigration  elsewhere  is  sparse.  Their  wish  and 
hope  is  always  to  return  some  day  to  their  homes, 
but  many  of  them  naturally  cannot,  and  after  a  visit 
will  return  and  make  this  country  their  permanent 
home.  They  do  not  come  in  family  groups,  and 
sometimes,  after  years  of  residence  here,  send  for 
their  families,  if  they  have  any.  Others  return  to 
Greece,  contract  marriages  there  and  return  to 
America  with  their  wives." 

Dr.  S.  I.  Paul  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  writes:  "Go 
halfway  with  the  Greeks  and  they  will  go  halfway 
with  you.  The  Americanization  of  the  Greeks,  until 
recently,  had  been  superficial,  as  they  had  come  to 
the  United  States  generally  with  the  idea  of  making 
money  and  then  returning  to  their  native  land.  But 
this  is  no  reason  for  despair,  as  the  very  names  of 
Boston,  New  England,  New  York,  etc.,  indicate  that 
the  early  English  in  America  were  reluctant  to  sep 
arate  themselves  from  their  mother  country.  Since 
the  war,  due  perhaps  to  the  drafting  of  many  Greeks 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  there  has  been 
a  marked  change  in  their  attitude  toward  this  coun 
try,  coming  more  and  more  to  regard  it  <as  their  own. 
Proof  of  this  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  many 
Greeks  are  now  buying  American  realty. 

The  prosperous  will  stay. — Those  who  are  accus- 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  79 

tomed  to  American  ways  and  ideas  with  all  the  rush 
•and  hustle  of  life  here,  with  ever-widening  fields  of 
enterprise  and  efficiency,  cannot  rest  satisfied  with 
the  quieter  and  less  active  life  in  the  Near  East. 
Besides  many  own  houses  and  other  property. 
Some  are  engaged  in  real  estate  enterprises  or  other 
lines  of  business.  Such  will  never  return.  One 
Greek  now  in  real  estate  business  in  Wilmington, 
Del.,  owns  property  worth  more  than  $1,000,000  and 
he  is  only  one  of  a  class  of  prosperous  Greeks,  some 
of  whom  started  from  the  very  bottom  and  have 
risen  gradually  to  prosperity. 

Working  Greeks  will  return. — It  is  different  with 
workers  in  mills  and  factories  and  those  who  cannot 
feel  at  home  in  America.  I  asked  in  1918  scores  of 
Greeks  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  who  were  from  Broosa  and 
its  villages  in  Asia  Minor,  if  any  planned  to  return 
home.  "All  of  us,"  they  replied.  "Who  would  not 
go  back  to  his  home  and  his  own?  We  are  strangers 
in  a  strange  land;  we  do  not  know  the  language 
of  the  country;  neither  can  we  learn  it;  we  are 
working  hard  like  slaves  and  then  our  earnings  fly 
away  from  us,  everything  is  so  dear.  At  home  we 
have  our  houses,  fields,  vineyards,  and  our  relatives 
and  friends  are  all  there." 

In  general,  however,  Greeks  are  well  satisfied  with 
America.  They  love  and  adore  it.  They  intend  to 
stay  here  permanently.  They  call  it  "Their  second 
fatherland." 

One  (in  Philadelphia,  Pa.)  said,  "Every  one  can 
find  what  he  wants  or  can  do  here ;  if  a  man  cannot 
find  work  in  this  country  he  can  find  it  nowhere ;  this 
is  the  best  country  to  live  in."  He  came  from  Tur 
key  a  poor,  ignorant  man.  Now  he  owns  a  well 
furnished,  fine  home.  His  two  sons  are  earning  good 
wages.  They  are  all  happy  and  well.  His  little 
daughter  was  proud  that  she  was  born  in  America 
and  was  an  American. 


80  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

United  States  full  of  comfort.— Another— a  stu 
dent — spoke  of  the  comfort  of  life,  facilities,  con 
veniences,  enjoyment  and  opportunities  to  grow,  and 
then  compared  them  with  the  monotony,  hardships, 
and  difficulties  on  the  other  side.  ' '  Steam  heat,  elec 
tricity,  gas,  etc.,  we  cannot  have  over  there,"  he 
emphasized.  Another  added,  "Let  us  take  these 
good  things  from  here  over  there."  Rev.  Thomas 
J.  Lacey  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  sums  up  the  main  points 
regarding  the  Greek  immigrants  in  a  letter  thus : 

"The  important  things  about  the  Greek  immigrant 
to  my  mind  are :  1 — He  comes  with  a  great  historical, 
literary  heritage  of  which  he  himself  has  an  appre 
ciation.  The  humblest  Greek  is  thrilled  with  the 
great  past  of  the  Hellenic  people.  2 — He  comes  in 
search  of  economic  betterment,  hence  will  be  thrifty 
and  hard  working.  He  has  not  known  political  op 
pression  in  his  homeland  and  has  never  felt  antag 
onism  to  government;  is  not  prone  to  foment  unrest. 
3 — By  natural  temper  and  long  racial  training  in 
democracy,  the  Greek  is  adapted  to  American  ideals 
and  institutions." 


ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS 

With  the  exception  of  the  few  merchants  and  stu 
dents,  the  early  comers  were  poor  and  illiterate. 
Almost  all  settled  at  first  in  New  York.  They  started 
selling  candies,  fruits,  and  flowers  from  a  basket 
hanging  around  their  necks,  and  wandering  through 
the  streets.  Others  went  to  the  interior  as  work 
men  in  railroad  building. 

Then  came  the  push-cart,  candy-store,  and  con 
fectionery.  Then  retail  and  wholesale  fruit  mer 
chants,  florists,  etc. 

Enterprising. — The  Greeks  are  thrifty  and  enter 
prising.  As  soon  as  a  Greek  saves  money  enough 
he  starts  business  for  himself.  This  fact  is  set  forth 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  81 

successfully  and  pointedly  in  the  Keport  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Bureau  of  Immigration. 

"  Although  many  thousands  of  Greeks  in  America 
are  employed  as  mill  and  factory  hands  and  many 
more  thousands  in  railroad  construction,  in  digging 
sewers,  and  as  farm  laborers,  there  is  a  strong  ten 
dency  among  the  Greeks  here,  as  Prof.  Boss  says, 
to  take  to  certain  lines  of  business  such  as  candy- 
kitchens  and  confectionery-stores,  ice-cream  parlors, 
fruit-carts,  stands,  >and  stores,  florist-shops  and  boot 
black  establishments." 

"This  is  due  to  the  fact,"  Prof.  Eoss  continues, 
"that  catering  to  the  minor  wants  of  the  public 
admits  of  being  started  on  the  curb  with  little  capital 
and  no  experience.  Once  his  foot  on  the  first  step, 
the  saving  iand  commercial  minded  Greek  climbs. 
From  curb  to  stand,  from  stand  to  store,  from  little 
store  to  big  store,  to  the  chain  of  stores,  to  branch 
stores  in  other  cities.  Such  are  the  stages  in  his 
upward  path." 

They  work  hard  and  render  satisfactory  service 
to  the  public.  There  might  be  given  many  instances 
of  Greeks  prospering  and  making  good  in  these  lines, 
in  different  parts  of  the  United  States.  I  mention 
only  one,  a  prominent  fruit  dealer  in  the  state  of 
New  York,  who  started  with  a  push-cart  and  now 
owns  a  chain  of  stores  and  is  prosperous. 

Restaurants. — Restaurants  and  lunch  rooms  are 
another  line  of  work  that  Greeks  engage  in  with 
great  success.  There  are  two  classes.  1 — Those 
which  furnish  Greek  dishes.  2 — Those  which  follow 
the  American  kitchen.  The  latter  class  is  getting 
more  numerous  and  doing  very  successful  work. 
There  is  scarcely  a  city  where  Greeks  are  found, 
and  have  not  opened  a  restaurant  or  lunch  room. 
It  has  almost  become  a  proverb,  "When  Greek  meets 
Greek  he  opens  a  restaurant."  They  were  among 
the  first  to  open  first  class  restaurants  in  the  south. 


82  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Those  winch  follow  the  Greek  kitchen  are  repro 
ductions  of  the  home  institution,  with  the  same 
dishes,  style  and  manner  of  serving  as  in  the  old 
country.  A  number  of  them  are  of  better  grade, 
and  Americans,  especially  those  who  have  been  in 
Greece  or  Turkey,  like  to  visit  them. 

Waiters. — A  great  many  Greek  young  men  serve 
as  waiters  in  American  and  Greek  hotels  and  res 
taurants.  Some  of  them  rise  quickly  into  higher 
positions  in  this  line.  The  tipping  system  in  Amer 
ica  is  highly  remunerative.  So  many  use  the  hotel 
or  restaurant  service  as  a  stepping  stone  to  some 
thing  higher.  Many  a  student  has  worked  his  way 
through  college  or  other  studies  in  this  way.  Others 
open  restaurants  of  their  own.  Greeks  own  and 
operate  a  number  of  prominent  hotels  in  Brooklyn, 
Manhattan  and  other  cities,  with  almost  exclusive 
American  constituency.  Hotels  for  Greeks  are  nu 
merous  in  all  the  Greek  centers. 

One  of  the  prosperous  wholesale  merchants  in 
New  York  came  from  Greece  with  his  three  brothers 
burdened  with  debts  owing  to  their  father's  busi 
ness.  They  started  as  waiters.  As  soon  as  they 
saved  some  $2,000  they  opened  a  grocery  store  and 
began  importing  goods  from  Greece.  Now  they  are 
very  successful  wholesale  grocers  and  in  the  export 
and  import  business. 

Groceries. — New  York  City  has  many  Greek 
wholesale  grocery  merchants  engaged  also  in  import 
and  export  business.  Fourteen  of  them  formed  a 
committee  in  1919  to  collect  funds  for  Greek  relief 
in  Thrace  and  Asia  Minor,  to  assist  the  work  of 
the  Greek  Eelief  Committee. 

These  merchants  have  great  business  with  retail 
grocers  scattered  throughout  the  states,  especially 
the  eastern.  Chicago  is  another  important  cen 
ter  for  wholesale  grocers  and  merchants  who 
deal  chiefly  with  the  middle  west  and  western  states. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  83 

They  are  also  doing  an  extensive  business  as  fur 
riers  in  New  York  and  other  places. 

Cigarette  manufacturers. — Greeks  have  been  pio 
neers  in  cigarette  manufacturing  and  the  tobacco 
business.  Anargyros  Melanchrinos,  Stefano  Bros., 
Condax  Bros.,  are  a  few  of  the  well  known  Greeks 
in  the  cigarette  business.  In  recent  years  there  have 
appeared  many  Greek  commercial  houses  dealing 
in  tobacco  and  some  of  them  have  been  very  pros 
perous.  The  Stefano  Bros.,  Poulides  Bros.,  the 
Standard  Commercial  Tobacco  Co.,  Pialoglou  Bros., 
B.  D.  Dugundji  &  Co.,  and  Condax  Bros.,  all  of  New 
York,  are  a  few  of  the  prominent  tobacco  merchants. 

Shipping. — The  Greeks,  being  a  seafaring  and 
commercial  people,  have  been  very  successful  in 
steamship  work.  Thus  the  Greek  Line  or  National 
Steam  Navigation,  20  Pearl  St.,  New  York  City,  has 
regular  steamships  between  New  York  and  Piraeus, 
Greece.  Also  Greeks,  naturalized  in  America,  own 
ships  and  are  doing  good  work  between  America  and 
European  ports,  e.g.,  D.  Theophilatos,  Stephanides 
and  Benas  of  New  York. 

Agencies. — In  New  York  and  other  important  cen 
ters  there  are  many  steamship  ticket  agents  provid 
ing  many  facilities  for  immigrants  and  emigrants 
at  their  arrival  in  or  departure  from  the  United 
States.  Some  have  hotels  and  transportation  facil 
ities  of  their  own.  There  have  been  many  abuses 
in  the  past,  at  the  expense  of  inexperienced  immi 
grants,  but  conditions  are  much  improved. 

Banking. — Many  Greeks  have  gone  into  banking. 
Besides  many  employed  by  American  banks  either 
as  employees  or  heads  of  their  Greek  departments, 
they  have  organized  banks  with  Greek  capital. 
There  are  Greek  banks  in  Boston  and  Chicago,  and 
several  are  being  organized  in  New  York  and  other 
cities. 

Theaters. — Moving  pictures  and  theater  opera- 


84  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

tions  have  drawn  a  number  of  them.  Although  a 
great  many  operate  small  theaters  and  moving  pic 
ture  houses,  some  have  larger  ones,  e.g.,  in  Pitts- 
burg,  Pa.,  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and  many  other  places. 
But  the  one  Greek  who  has  earned  the  title  "King 
of  Theatres,"  is  Mr.  Alexander  Pantazes  of  An- 
dros,  Greece,  who  owns  a  whole  series  of  theaters 
along  the  western  coast,  centering  in  Seattle,  Wash. 

There  are  numerous  Greek  motion  picture  houses 
in  Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
and  Texas. 

Many  are  in  trades  as  barbers,  bakers,  carpenters, 
printers,  tailors,  furriers,  shoemakers,  electricians, 
machinists,  etc. 

There  are  two  other  lines  of  work  in  which  Greeks 
take  a  prominent  part — shoe-shine  parlors  and  cof 
fee-houses. 

Shoe-shine  parlors. — In  connection  with  the  shoe- 
shine  parlors  there  is  the  question  of  child  labor 
and  the  protection  of  the  young  workers  from  the 
grafting  abuse  of  the  bosses.  Whatever  abuses  have 
happened  in  the  past  there  has  come  about  much 
improvement  in  the  working  conditions  and  the 
rights  of  the  boys  are  well  guarded  by  the  law.  In 
connection  with  the  pool-rooms  and  the  shoe-shine 
places  there  are  often  barber-shops  and  cigar  and 
fruit  stands.  Coffee-houses  have  been  imported 
with  the  immigrants  and  they  accompany  them  in 
all  their  migrations. 

In  Tarpon  Springs,  Fla.,  there  is  a  strong  Greek 
colony  of  2,000,  many  of  whom  are  sponge-divers. 

STANDARD  OF  LIVING  AND  WAGES 

The  earlier  immigrants,  usually  of  a  rather  igno 
rant  peasant  class,  lived  in  crowded  and  unsanitary 
rooms.  They  did  not  realize  the  value  of  fresh  air 
and  sunlight,  and  the  result  was  that  many  caught 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  85 

tuberculosis.  Those  who  returned  to  Greece  carried 
the  germs  to  their  homes  also. 

They  were  careless  of  their  diet  and  neglected 
their  health,  living  on  scanty  food.  It  is  true  Greeks 
in  general  are  moderate  in  eating  and  drinking  and 
many  take  very  light  breakfasts.  They  may  pass 
the  day  with  bread  and  olives  or  cheese  in  their 
home  towns  or  villages,  but  they  soon  found  out  they 
could  not  stand  the  struggle  for  life  here  on  that 
kind  of  diet.  Their  main  desire  was  to  economize 
as  much  as  they  could,  so  that  they  might  send 
home  money  for  the  support  of  their  families.  They 
followed  an  oriental  proverb,  "One  cannot  save  by 
working  but  by  not  eating. "  "  Every  penny  unspent 
is  a  gain." 

There  is  great  change  now  and  improvement  in 
every  way.  The  negligent  at  first  are  now  living 
in  better  circumstances,  taking  proper  meals  and 
keeping  their  rooms  and  clothing  clean  and  tidy. 

The  earlier  comers  were  mostly  single,  ignorant 
men.  As  time  passed  they  earned  more  and  spent 
more.  The  married  ones  brought  their  families  and 
the  single  got  married.  The  family  life  brought  its 
comforts  .and  improvement.  Greeks  of  a  better  and 
more  educated  class  began  to  come  to  the  United 
States.  Among  the  immigrants,  there  are  graduates 
of  high  schools  and  even  of  Athens  University. 
Some  of  them  may  be  found  among  the  waiters  and 
attendants  in  hotels  and  restaurants.  Probably  they 
are  working  their  way  in  some  college  or  university 
here. 

Houses. — Greek  houses  are  usually  tidy,  clean  and 
comfortable,  with  separate  dining,  living  and  sleep 
ing  rooms,  although  in  large  cities  like  New  York, 
Greeks,  like  the  rest  of  the  people  in  the  country, 
are  endeavoring  to  utilize  every  room  available,  for 
the  sake  of  economizing  in  this  time  of  "high  cost 
of  living." 


86  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Factory  workers. — I  am  told  by  several  who  have 
traveled  much  and  came  into  personal  touch  with 
many,  that  the  men  who  work  in  factories,  mills 
and  railroads  are  as  a  rule  attentive  to  their  habits 
and  take  good  care  of  themselves.  In  answer  to 
my  question  as  to  their  standing  of  living  "Oh,  they 
are  all  Americanized,"  they  said,  "they  know  how 
and  what  to  eat  and  how  to  live." 

High  wages. — With  the  rest  in  the  country,  Greeks 
also  are  earning  more  and  get  higher  wages.  Com 
mon  laborers  are  making  far  more  money  than  many 
an  educated  man.  During  the  war  many  Greeks 
earned  good  sums  of  money  in  ammunition  factories 
and  ship-yards  and  generally  in  every  trade. 

Among  the  Greeks  usually  men  >alone  work  for 
wages,  while  women  attend  to  household  work. 
Greek  women  are  good  in  domestic  science,  are  fond 
of  cooking,  sewing,  knitting,  and  embroidery.  After 
finishing  the  necessary  household  work,  they  usually 
make  calls  or  do  some  handiwork. 

But  now  under  new  circumstances  in  America, 
everybody  who  can  is  working.  Boys  and  girls  are 
doing  their  part  helping  with  the  family  expenses 
and  increasing  the  savings.  Women  help  their  hus 
bands  in  grocery  stores,  florist  shops,  or  candy- 
stores. 

Savings. — Greeks,  like  other  people,  are  earning 
more  and  spending  more,  but  as  a  rule  are  saving 
money.  Many  have  accounts  in  savings  banks.  It 
is  surprising  how  illiterate  persons  have  saved  thou 
sands  of  dollars.  Many,  however,  carry  all  their 
savings  in  their  pocket-books  or  keep  it  in  their 
rooms.  A  case  is  known  of  a  Greek  who  had  his 
pocket  picked  of  $12,000  in  a  theater  in  Detroit, 
Mich.  Similar  incidents  are  not  rare. 

Greeks  who  left  the  United  States  for  Greece  since 
the  armistice  have  taken  along  hundreds  and  thou 
sands  of  dollars. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  87 

TJNBEST 

No  unrest. — Greeks  are  loyal  and  respect  order 
and  government.  There  is  no  movement  of  unrest 
among  them.  Letters  that  came  from  many  parts 
of  the  United  States  and  numerous  interviews  with 
many  leading  personages  in  various  walks  of  life, 
all  showed  one  thing — "  there  is  no  unrest  among  the 
Greeks." 

H.  C.  L. — There  is  of  course  an  undertone  of  com 
plaint  in  all  hearts  against  the  high  cost  of  living. 
The  Greeks  share  this  feeling  of  discontent,  and 
many  in  their  effort  to  explain  the  matter  blame  this 
or  that  individual  or  organization. 

Americans  generalize. — I  have  heard  loyal  Amer 
icans  of  leading  political  parties  say  "if  things  go 
as  they  are  everybody  will  turn  socialist."  Many 
Greeks  say  the  same,  but  all  are  speaking  common 
generalities.  While  discussing  this  subject  with  a 
leading,  educated  Greek,  I  mentioned  this  fact.  He 
at  once  replied  with  emphasis,  "Do  not  repeat  any 
thing  like  that,  it  may  be  misunderstood  or  misin 
terpreted.  There  may  be  individual  Greeks  who 
cherish  queer  notions.  And  there  are  Americans 
who  will  at  once  generalize  >and  in  the  present  day 
fashion  of  hunting  for  ringleaders  of  unrest  they 
will  rashly  class  the  loyal  Greeks  among  the  an 
archists,  socialists,  etc.  It  is  a  real  fact,  there  is  no 
unrest  among  us." 

Experience  shows  that  the  fear  of  this  man  was 
not  groundless,  because  people  meet  a  crook  or  de 
ceiver  among  foreigners,  they  readily  suspect  all 
foreigners,  and  are  seized  with  foreigno-phobia  or 
Greeko-phobia.  I  know  a  number  of  fine,  respecta 
ble,  Greek  young  men  who  had  great  difficulty  in 
finding  rooms,  because  landladies  would  not  rent 
them  to  Greeks.  They  succeeded  easily  in  finding 
what  they  wanted  by  passing  for  Frenchmen ! 


Chapter 
THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  (Continued) 

SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

Improved  social  conditions. — Now,  as  a  rule,  peo 
ple  are  living  in  more  sanitary  conditions  than  for 
merly.  Greeks,  like  other  immigrants,  adapt  them 
selves  to  circumstances.  Those  who  arrive  at  any 
port  in  the  United  States  searching  for  work  are 
glad  to  find  a  place  to  put  their  head.  The  whole 
family  of  four,  five  or  more  get  along  for  a  time 
in  one  room,  but  as  soon  as  they  get  work  and  im 
prove  their  circumstances,  they  seek  better  quarters 
with  improved  conditions  of  living. 

BECBEATION 

Coffee-houses. — Greeks  have  brought  to  America 
their  customs  and  modes  of  recreation  from  the  old 
country.  Coffee-houses  provide  the  principal  recre 
ation  for  men.  People  flock  to  these  places  day  and 
night,  sitting  around  tables,  sipping  black  coffee, 
smoking  cigars,  or  more  commonly  cigarettes,  or  the 
narghile,  and  discussing  everything, — business,  news 
of  national  interest,  and  of  course  the  politics  of 
Greece  and  the  attitude  of  Americans  towards  them. 
At  times  they  discuss  American  politics.  There  are 
often  animated  discussions  that  might  be  taken  for 
quarrels  by  those  who  do  not  understand  Greek,  but 
it  is  all  verbal,  no  blows  exchanged  excepting  the 
blows  the  tables  or  chairs  receive.  Greeks,  like  the 
Latin  people,  accompany  their  words  with  multiple 
gestures  of  hands  and  head,  maybe  even  the  foot, 
or  the  whole  body. 

88 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  89 

Games. — Certain  games  are  played  in  almost  all 
the  coffee-houses,— cards,  backgammon,  chess,  and 
dominoes.  Cards  are  the  most  common  game. 
They  are  often  played  for  pastime  and  recreation. 

Gambling. — But  unfortunately  gambling  is  fre 
quently  connected  with  them.  Almost  every  answer 
to  my  questionnaire  mentioned  gambling  as  the  chief 
evil  among  the  Greeks  in  America. 

In  discussing  this  matter,  -an  American  friend 
wondered  whether  the  case  was  any  worse  among 
the  Greeks  than  among  Americans  or  other  races. 
Probably  not  worse. 

Lack  of  social  centers. — In  many  places  Greeks, 
working  in  factories  and  mills,  have  no  proper 
amusement  or  entertainment  centers  after  working 
hours.  As  one  of  them  in  Canton,  Ohio,  put  it, l '  they 
do  not  know  English,  cannot  attend  lectures  or  other 
meetings,  they  have  no  books  and  could  not  read 
them  if  they  had;  they  have  no  homes  and  do  not 
indulge  in  evil  practices,  so  they  spend  the  evenings 
playing  cards  and  a  little  sum  of  money  serves  as 
a  stimulant. " 

Refreshments. — Greek  coffee-houses  take  the 
place  of  what  used  to  be  the  saloon,  and  serve  usually 
as  social  centers  where  people  meet  each  other,  form 
new  acquaintances,  and  get  rested.  Here  are  served 
coffee,  tea,  lemonade,  and  Greek  pastry  (paklava 
— used  also  by  Armenians,  Syrians  and  Turks.) 
Unfortunately  coffee-houses  are  much  abused,  as 
people  get  a  lazy  and  sedentary  habit,  breathing  foul 
and  smoky  air  in  a  crowded  hall  and  wasting  valu 
able  time. 

Motion-pictures,  theaters  and  concerts  are  more 
and  more  being  attended  by  Greeks,  especially  those 
who  understand  English.  Dancing,  both  Greek  and 
American,  is  much  enjoyed  everywhere. 

Receptions  and  Dances. — Many  Greek  societies 
hold  annual  receptions  with  balls  or  theatrical  pres- 


90  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

entations,  and  as  they  are  numerous  in  New  York 
and  other  cities,  there  are  frequent  entertainments. 
On  such  occasions,  amateurs  or  professionals  present 
a  drama  in  Greek  and  a  comedy  is  usually  added 
at  the  end.  A  band  plays  American  'and  Greek  airs. 
Dancing  begins  at  the  end,  lasting  often  till  morn 
ing  hours.  The  grand  march  is  usually  the  finale. 
As  there  are  not  many  Greek  young  women,  many 
Greek  young  men  bring  American  or  English  speak 
ing  girls. 

Picnics. — Another  feature  of  these  societies  is 
their  'annual  picnics  or  outings  to  some  park  or 
summer  resort.  Here  again  life  in  the  homeland 
is  reproduced.  National  songs  are  sung,  dances  and 
games  are  played.  Some  resort  to  various  athletic 
events,  which  are  extremely  popular  with  certain 
young  men,  and  some  societies  give  prizes  to  the 
successful  contestants. 

Lamb,  roasted  in  Greek  style,  is  sometimes  the 
finale. 

Wine,  as  in  Greece,  is  used  on  such  occasions. 
Meals  and  parties  are  regarded  as  dry  and  spiritless 
without  some  spirituous  substance.  In  general, 
however,  moderation  is  the  rule  and  excesses  are 
usually  avoided. 

Visiting. — Another  source  of  much  pleasure  and 
entertainment  is  visiting  homes,  especially  on  saints' 
days,  which  takes  the  place  of  birthday  among  the 
Greeks.  Often  a  child  is  called  after  the  saint  of 
the  day  on  which  he  is  born.  Friends  and  relatives 
visit  on  such  occasions  and  there  is  much  enjoyment, 
music,  dancing,  chatting  and  playing  indoor  games. 
Games  played  in  American  parties  are  being  intro 
duced  into  such  gatherings  and  are  proving  very 
enjoyable.  Phonographs  are  getting  very  popular 
and  both  American  and  Greek  and  even  Turkish  airs 
are  played. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  91 

FAMILY  LIFE 

Husband  and  wife. — Greeks  are  very  much  de 
voted  to  their  families.  Whatever  freedom  may  be 
allowed  to  men  during  their  pre-marital  life,  it  is  un 
derstood  and  expected  that,  after  the  marriage,  a 
new  chapter  is  to  be  opened  and  strictly  clean  rec 
ords  are  to  be  entered  in  it.  Women  of  course  have 
always  to  be  exemplary  and  pure  in  every  way. 
Divorce  is  uncommon  among  the  Greeks.  Children 
are  numerous  and  are  regarded  as  blessings  and 
gifts  of  God.  However  poor  and  ignorant  parents 
may  be  they  are  anxious  to  educate  their  children 
in  good  schools. 

There  is  not  much  data  for  comparing  the  first 
and  the  second  generations,  as  to  family  life,  but 
there  are  many  indications  that  the  new  generation 
is  getting  Americanized  and  is  learning  both  the 
good  and  bad  aspects  of  American  life. 

Divorce. — A  Greek  young  man  was  asked: 
"  Would  you  marry  a  Greek  or  an  American  V9  He 
replied  " American."  To  the  question,  "Will  you 
be  able  to  agree  together  and  be  happy?"  "If  we 
do  not,  then  we  get  divorced,"  was  his  emphatic 
reply.  He  would  never  have  thought  or  said  so  in 
Greece  or  Turkey.  There  marriage  is  thought  of 
as  a  matter  of  harmony  and  love  to  last  till  death. 

Children  are  devoted  to  their  parents  and  rela 
tives.  Young  men  gladly  undergo  many  troubles  and 
live  a  life  of  thrift  and  self-denial  in  order  to  save, 
and  send  money  to  their  parents.  They  pay  the  old 
debts  of  their  parents  to  keep  up  their  good  repu 
tation  or  save  paternal  inheritance.  They  postpone 
or  even  forego  marriage  in  order  to  get  their  sisters 
married.  Unfortunately  the  evil  custom  of  dowry 
continues  in  the  old  country.  So  fathers  and 
brothers  working  here  must  save  money  in  order  to 


92  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

provide  dowry  for  daughters  and  sisters.  It  is  a 
g<-od  thing  that  the  custom  of  dowry  is  getting 
bi-ken  in  America,  though  not  entirely  abandoned. 

Neighborhood  life. — People  from  the  same  town 
or  village  in  Greece  are  usually  drawn  together  in 
America  too.  The  newcomers  find  out  first  of  all 
the  whereabouts  of  their  relatives  and  fellow-coun 
trymen.  In  fact  they  may  come  directly  to  them, 
having  already  corresponded  with  them.  Even  those 
of  different  towns  are  very  helpful  to  one  another 
in  finding  work  and  if  need  be  helping  each  other 
financially  and  otherwise.  They  room  together; 
work  together;  frequent  the  same  coffee-house,  club 
and  restaurant.  Thus  close  attachments  are  formed. 

Here  people  may  live  in  the  same  neighborhood 
(even  the  same  house),  and  not  get  acquainted  with 
each  other.  Not  so  among  the  Greeks;  they  easily 
get  acquainted  and  are  friendly  and  neighborly  to 
one  another. 

Of  course  this  does  not  mean  there  are  no  ill- 
feelings,  rivalries,  competition  or  even  animosities 
among  them.  Those  of  the  same  trade  or  profession 
are  often  bitter  rivals  against  each  other. 

Moral  standards. — Greeks  are  usually  temperate 
and  sober;  prudent  moderation  characterizes  their 
pleasure  and  enjoyments.  Most  of  the  answers  to 
the  question  as  to  the  moral  conditions  among  the 
Greeks  said  "good";  "fairly  good";  "fair";  "not 
any  worse  than  their  neighbors  or  others." 

In  general  they  are  loyal  and  obedient  to  the  laws 
of  the  country.  Their  chief  misdemeanors  are  neg 
lect  of  police  or  sanitary  regulations.  They  bring 
from  the  old  country  certain  bad  habits.  Some  of 
them  resort  to  deceptive  methods,  yet  even  such  peo- 
i  pie  find  by  experience  the  truth  that  "Honesty  is  the 
best  policy."  In  general  they  are  honest  and  re 
liable. 

Temptations  are  many  on  all  hands,  and  some 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  93 

were  pure  and  temv&p&te  in  their 
homeland  have^tjn&en^led  astray  in^America,  usually 
through  bad  companiottsluj).  Wpmen  of  low  mora^, 
supposedly  American,  speakjs^  English,  visit  them 
in  their  rooms.  Most  ofjkem  afe-single  young  men 
of  military  age,  at  tji^prime  of  therF^youth  and 
strength,  open  to^^tl  influences  in  the  formative 
period  of  theirx<5naracter.  ^^ 

Unfortunately  they  do  not  see  the  best  in  Ameri 
can  life,  and  the  evil  is  always  near.  In  justifying 
misconduct  they  often  say,  "This  is  America;  we 
are  not  in  Greece  or  Turkey.  Here  customs  are  dif 
ferent,  and  everything  is  possible."  Even  suppos 
edly  good  people  change  their  standard  of  life  here. 
Possibly  change  of  circumstances  and  environment 
brings  out  what  was  in  them  or  draws  them  into 
courses  of  life  they  would  not  have  been  led  into 
at  home.  A  young  man  who  would  not  help  his  par 
ents,  as  it  is  customary  to  do  in  Greece,  said  in  jus 
tifying  his  refusal,  "This  is  America;  every  one  has 
to  look  after  his  own  interest  and  mind  his  own 
business." 

United  States  a  mission  field. — Many  good  people, 
Greeks  and  others,  who  had  known  missionaries  and 
their  work  among  the  Greeks  and  Armenians  in 
Turkey,  and  who  have  seen  chiefly  the  street  life 
or  the  disorderly  conduct  in  houses  and  apartments 
or  saloons,  and  who  have  not  seen  and  cannot  see 
the  citizens  of  better  class  and  character  in  their 
home  life,  ask,  "Why  dp  the  missionaries  go  away 
from  this  country!  This  is  the  real  field  for  their 
work;  those  on  the  other  side  are  real  Christians; 
here  is  hell." 

Safeguarding  youth. — As  there  is  ground  for  pre 
caution  and  exclusion  of  corrupting  influences  from 
abroad,  there  is  equally  great  need  to  keep  the  in 
experienced  youth  from  abroad  from  coming  into 
contact  with  the  corrupting  elements  in  America, 


94  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

and  to  surround  them  with  better  influences,  with 
proper  social  environment,  pure  amusements  and 
innocent  entertainments. 


RELATION  TO  OTHER  RACIAL  GROUPS 

Friendly  to  other  races. — Greeks  are  usually 
friendly  and  on  good  terms  with  representatives  of 
other  races.  Political  questions  and  collisions  of 
views  and  interests  have  created  a  mutual  antago 
nism  between  Greeks,  Albanians,  and  Bulgarians, 
and  Turks.  They  cannot  work  together  amicably. 
In  normal  times  they  can  all  get  along  well.  There 
are  many  cases  of  strong  friendship  and  attachment 
between  individuals  from  these  various  groups  men 
tioned  as  antagonistic.  Greeks  from  Turkey  are 
often  on  very  good  terms  with  the  Turks,  when  they 
meet  in  this  country,  especially  those  coming  from 
the  same  region.  War,  however,  upsets  all  condi 
tions,  destroys  best  friendships,  and  creates  bitter 
animosities.  Albanians  and  Greeks  were  very 
friendly  until  foreign  intrigues  separated  them. 
Should  those  intrigues  stop,  Greeks  and  Albanians 
can  adjust  their  differences,  and  may  even  form  a 
strong  alliance.  There  are  many  Albanians  in 
Greece,  and  some  of  the  most  prominent,  patriotic 
citizens  of  Greece  were  of  Albanian  descent. 

Esteemed  by  Americans. — Greeks  are  held  gener 
ally  in  good  esteem  by  Americans  and  other  races. 
There  have  been,  however,  exceptions,  especially 
years  ago  when  a  mostly  ignorant  and  low  type  of 
Greeks,  only,  were  known  to  a  great  many  Ameri 
cans.  Greeks  had  a  rather  low  standing.  Also, 
owing  to  the  elasticity  of  the  meaning  of  Greek, 
members  of  the  Greek  Church  of  other  races  being 
also  called  Greek,  often  crimes  and  offenses  of  Bul 
garians,  Albanians,  Eumanians  and  other  races, 
even  Turks,  were  ascribed  to  Greeks. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  95 

Marriage  between  Greeks.-4-In  general  Greek  men 
marry  Greek  women.  As  there  are  not  many  Greek 
women  in  the  United  States,  when  a  young  man 
wants  to  marry  he  writes  home  to  his  parents  to 
find  a  bride  for  him.  After  a  successful  search  when 
the  selection  is  decided  upon,  photographs  are  ex 
changed  and  the  result  may  be  an  engagement. 
Then  the  young  lady  comes  to  America  and  they 
get  married.  The  story  of  Isaac  and  Kebecca  is  re 
peated  frequently  or  the  young  man  may  go  home 
for  a  furlough  and  the  matter  is  settled  there.  The 
tendency  is  to  select  a  bride  from  their  own  village 
or  town}  following  a  popular  proverb,  "Even  if  you 
are  to  buy  shoes  or  sandals,  buy  them  from  your 
own  place." 

Intermarriage.— Still  there  are  many  cases  of  in 
termarriage  with  other  races.  When  the  two,  man 
and  woman,  of  whatever  race,  agree  in  temperament, 
culture,  tastes,  they  live  in  happiness.  But  when 
there  has  been  a  hasty  marriage  without  proper  mu 
tual  acquaintance,  many  difficulties  rise.  Differ 
ences  in  taste,  as  to  diet,  manners  of  life,  habits, 
customs,  religious  and  denominational  matters,  all 
create  an  atmosphere  of  misery,  and  may  end  in 
discord  and  divorce. 

Religious. — Religious  principles  are  inculcated 
ordinarily  in  terms  of  patriotism.  Even  the  cele 
bration  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  at  Easter  sug 
gests  to  them  the  hope  of  the  resurrection  of  their 
nation;  the  Annunciation  by  the  Angel  to  Mary  is 
coupled  with  the  declaration  of  the  independence  of 
Greece,  etc.  They  are  superstitious,  being  strongly 
devoted  to  old  customs,  usages,  and  practices.  Such 
devotion,  however,  is  often  coupled  in  them  with 
moral  indifference. 

They  are  generally  thrifty,  energetic,  enterpris 
ing,  alert,  intelligent.  Here  are  some  of  the  virtues 
and  evils  mentioned  by  various  Greeks  as  character- 


96  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

izing  their  people  in  answer  to  my  questionnaire: 
Chief  virtues :  *  *  Steady  and  hard  working ;  success 
in  any  enterprise  they  undertake;  united  in  their 
national  aspirations  and  religious  doctrines;  indus- 
triousness,  love  of  country,  dependability  in.  busi 
ness,  ambition  to  succeed;  love  for  their  families; 
patriotism,  loyalty  and  good-fellowship;  progres- 
siveness;  morality;  economy;  honesty;  integrity; 
wide-awakeness ;  good  citizenship,  thrift ;  steadiness 
in  work;  frugality;  independence;  quietness  and  re 
spect  of  laws ;  love  of  work ;  ambition  for  higher  and 
better  conditions  of  life ;  freedom  from  communistic 
ideas." 

Chief  evils :  "Selfishness;  lack  of  organization  and 
community  centers;  the  so-called  "Greek  Cafes"; 
discord  and  divisions  among  themselves;  ignorance 
of  English  and  lack  of  proper  education  in  general ; 
propagandist  press,  disloyal  both  to  the  United 
States  and  Greece  divides  us  (Greeks) ;  card-play 
ing,  the  worst  of  all;  gambling  among  the  low  class 
people  (mentioned  by  many) ;  envy  and  jealousy 
among  themselves ;  none  very  bad ;  lack  of  enthusi 
asm  to  commune  with  nature;  coffee-house  loitering; 
vile  talking." 

RELATION    TO  AMERICAN    PEOPLE,   IDEALS,   INSTITUTION'S, 

ETC. 

Love  for  America. — Greeks  have  always  looked 
up  to  America  and  the  American  people  with  devotion 
and  admiration;  an  affectionate  regard  has  charac 
terized  all  references  to  America  by  Greeks.  Since 
the  war  of  Greek  independence,  at  which  time  Amer 
ica  showed  practical  sympathy  and  support  to 
Greeks  through  relief  work,  they  have  had  a  special 
regard  and  appreciation  for  America. 

The  American  School  of  Archaeology  in  Athens, 
and  the  various  American  educational  institutions 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  97 

in  the  Near  East  have  greatly  strengthened  these 
bonds  of  affection  and  have  drawn  the  Greeks  closer 
to  American  ideals  and  institutions. 

Those  who  have  come  to  the  United  States  have 
always  been  loyal  to  the  American  government, 
laws  and  other  institutions,  and  feel  much  attached 
to  the  American  people.  Everywhere  they  wish  to 
get  acquainted  with  Americans,  to  learn  their  ways 
and  get  the  benefit  of  the  educational,  social  and 
other  opportunities.  Those  who  know  English  and 
are  able  to  appreciate  American  thought  and  ideals 
are  drawn  with  deepest  admiration  to  America. 
Those  who  are  apparently  distant  or  unappreciative 
are  usually  ignorant  of  the  language,  hence  unable 
to  understand  this  country,  and  so  remain  isolated 
and  clannish,  keeping  company  with  their  compa 
triots  only,  and  always  using  the  Greek  language. 

Democratic. — All  Greeks  feel  grateful  for  the  hos 
pitality,  and  business  and  educational  opportunities 
they  find  on  American  soil.  Greeks  are  truly  demo 
cratic  by  nature,  temperament  and  upbringing.  The 
ideas  of  the  oldest  democracy  in  history,  and  those 
of  the  greatest  republic  of  modern  times — of  all 
times — are  identical.  Therefore  devotion  to  Greek 
ideals  is  not  antagonistic  to  loyalty  to  America;  on 
the  contrary  they  go  together  and  strengthen  each 
other.  All  true  Americans  have  been  lovers  and 
friends  of  Greece,  sympathetic  in  all  her  difficulties, 
and  kindly  towards  her  aspirations.  In  turn  all  true 
Greeks  have  always  admired  American  ideals  and 
aspired  to  learn  and  practice  them. 

This  we  see  illustrated  in  those  Greeks  who  have 
studied  in  American  schools  'and  colleges  in  the  Near 
East  or  United  States.  Graduates  and  students  of 
these  institutions  have  been  warmly  devoted  to  them, 
and  have  acted  everywhere  as  missionaries  of  Amer 
ican  ideas  'and  institutions.  They  are  among  the 
leaders  and  best  influences  in  the  life  of  Greek  com- 


98  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

munities  and  serve  as  links  of  connection  and  mutual 
acquaintance  between  Americans  and  Greeks.  Such 
are  lawyers,  engineers,  physicians,  literary,  and 
business  men. 

Helicon. — There  are  several  associations  of  Greek 
students  in  American  colleges  and  universities. 
The  oldest  is  " Helicon"  of  Boston  and  has  ren 
dered  great  service  in  bringing  students  together 
and  in  arranging  series  of  lectures  and  addresses 
for  the  enlightenment  of  the  people.  There  is  also 
a  "  Helicon "  in  Berkeley,  Cal.,  and  a  similar  asso 
ciation,  " Greek  Students'  Association  Helicon,"  in 
New  York.  The  latter  is  gathering  statistics  of  the 
Greek  students  in  various  American  colleges  and 
universities.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  T.  Cottakis, 
Secretary  of  the  "Helicon,"  I  have  secured  the  fol 
lowing  figures  (1920) : 

Students  of  Engineering    26 

"    Medicine 18 

Chemistry    8 

Law 3 

Pharmacy    2 

Commercial  Science  8 

Academic    8 

Dentistry    4 

Agriculture    6 

Philosophy  1 

Finance     1 

Liberal  Arts   1 

Art    8 

Total    94 

The  list  is  incomplete.  It  could  easily  be  doubled. 
I  know  several  studying  theology  and  other  subjects 
that  do  not  appear  in  it.  "Helicon"  is  endeavoring 
to  complete  it. 

There  is  also  a  greater  number  of  Greeks  attend 
ing  high  schools  and  business  schools  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  almost  all  the  Greek  chil 
dren  of  school  age  are  attending  public  schools,  a 
limited  number  going  to  private  schools. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  99 

A  remarkable  thing  about  Greek  students  is  the 
fact  that  almost  95  percent  of  them  are  working 
their  way  through  college  or  university.  Thus  Dr. 
E.  Demos  of  the  Department  of  Philosophy,  Har 
vard  University,  writes,  "I  hope  you  will  stress  in 
your  report  the  increasing  number  of  Greek  students 
in  America — the  fact  that  95  percent  are  earning 
their  own  way  along,  that  when  they  graduate  they 
enter  into  professional  activities  and  become  respon 
sible  citizens. " 

Illustrations.— When  I  visited  Michigan  Uni 
versity,  in  1916,  I  found  some  10  or  12  students, 
graduates  and  former  students  of  Anatolia  College, 
Marsovan,  Asia  Minor,  all  earning  their  way.  They 
earned  their  meals  by  serving  as  waiters  in  clubs 
and  boarding  houses,  secured  their  rooms  by  attend 
ing  to  the  furnace  of  some  house,  and  worked  in 
summer  for  their  tuition.  Now  one  is  a  successful 
dentist,  several  are  physicians,  others  engineers. 
The  same  is  true  of  other  schools.  One  who  worked 
in  a  shoe-shine  parlor  has  successfully  finished  col 
lege  and  law  school,  and  is  now  a  very  proficient 
attorney.  Another  kept  a  shoe-shine  parlor  and  hat- 
cleaning  establishment,  working  himself,  while  he 
studied  political  science  in  winter.  Dr.  Constans 
of  Washington,  D.  C.,  went  through  his  medical 
course  by  keeping  a  barber-shop  and  now  occupies 
a  prominent  position  as  professor  and  physician. 
Others  work  as  waiters  in  restaurants,  ice-cream 
or  shoe-shine  parlors,  business  offices,  farms,  or  as 
tutors. 

Successful  in  studies. — Many  a  Greek  student  has 
had  a  bright  record  in  his  college  or  university 
career.  Dr.  R.  Demos,  a  graduate  of  Anatolia  Col 
lege,  Marsovan,  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  phi 
losophy  at  Harvard  with  distinction,  receiving  Ph.D. 
in  three  years  and  a  scholarship  which  enabled  him 
to  take  two  years'  study  at  Cambridge  University, 


100  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

England,  and  at  Paris.  He  is  now  assistant  in  the 
Department  of  Philosophy  at  Harvard. 

Dr.  A.  E.  Phoutrides,  after  graduating  with  dis 
tinction  at  Mount  Hermon  School,  Massachusetts, 
and  in  classical  studies  at  Harvard,  won  a  traveling 
scholarship,  and  visited  Home  and  Athens  and  other 
places  in  Europe  and  assisted  in  classical  studies 
at  Harvard.  He  had  been  appointed  professor  of 
Greek  Literature  at  Athens  University,  Athens, 
Greece.  But  on  the  return  of  Constantine  returned 
to  Harvard,  where  he  is  teaching  Greek.  He  is  the 
author  of  a  volume  of  verses  in  English  and  trans 
lated  "Life  Immovable,"  by  Costes  Palamas  of 
Athens,  Greece.  Another  Greek  holding  a  high  aca 
demic  position  is  Rev.  Prof.  Andrew  Zenos  of  Mc- 
Cormick  Theological  Seminary,  Chicago,  111. 

Mr.  N.  Cassavetes  worked  in  an  ice-cream  parlor 
when  he  came  to  America,  a  little  boy.  He  gradu 
ated  from  Mt.  Hermon  School,  being  valedictorian 
of  his  class,  and  took  courses  at  Harvard  with  much 
credit.  Now  he  is  at  the  head  of  the  Pan-Epirotic 
Union  of  America,  and  the  League  of  the  Friends  of 
Greece,  both  in  Boston,  Mass. 

Dr.  Theodore  Ion  was  Professor  of  International 
Law  at  Boston  University,  now  practicing  law  and 
director  of  the  American  Hellenic  Society  and  author 
of  various  publications,  and  many  magazine  articles. 

Dr.  L.  Hadjopoulos,  graduate  of  Anatolia  College, 
Marsovan,  after  graduating  with  a  bright  record 
from  the  Medical  School  of  Cornell  University, 
served  at  the  Bellevue  and  other  hospitals  and  is 
still  connected  with  the  staff  of  a  New  York  hospital. 
Dr.  P.  N.  Papas  and  Dr.  C.  J.  Soukires  graduates 
of  Anatolia  College,  Marsovan,  graduated,  one  from 
Harvard  Medical  School,  and  the  other  from  Balti 
more  Medical  College  and  both  are  on  the  staff  of 
Boston  hospitals.  Dr.  L.  P.  Kyrides,  graduate  of 
Michigan  University,  is  the  research  chemist  of  the 


THE  GREEKS  IN 


National  Chemical  Aniline  Company'  at  "  New  Y  ork 
Laboratory.  Dr.  J.  G.  Stateropoulos,  graduate  of 
Yale  University,  is  the  research  chemist  of  a  promi 
nent  firm,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Both  are  graduates  of 
Anatolia  College,  Marsovan.  The  late  Prof.  Sopho 
cles,  Professor  of  Greek  at  Harvard,  and  author  of  a 
Greek  English  Lexicon,  and  Michael  Anagnos,  Di 
rector  of  Perkins  Institute,  Boston,  Mass.,  were 
Greeks.  Mr.  M.  Dorizzas,  a  graduate  of  the  Univer 
sity  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Dr.  V.  Moysides,  of  Mich 
igan  University,  besides  distinction  in  their  studies, 
have  a  high  record  in  athletics  and  won  much  repu 
tation  as  wrestlers.  They  represent  a  group  of 
Greek  student  athletes  who  shine  in  athletics  as  well 
as  scholarship. 

It  was  a  Greek,  Trivoulides  by  name,  who  won  the 
Marathon  race  at  Boston,  Mass.,  in  1920. 

Mr.  Nicolay  of  Greece  is  a  successful  tenor  in  the 
Chicago  Opera,  and  several  others  are  getting  repu 
tations  as  singers.  So  there  are  dentists,  engineers, 
lawyers,  artists,  actors,  doing  great  credit  to  the 
Greek  name. 

The  record  of  almost  every  Greek  student  in 
America  would  be  a  matter  of  great  credit  and  much 
interest  as  an  achievement  in  culture  and  attain 
ment  through  self-help  and  thrift. 

Political  Relations.  —  At  first  Greeks  came  to 
America  with  the  intention  to  make  money  as  fast 
as  they  could,  and  to  return  enriched  to  their  native 
land  as  soon  as  possible.  Consequently  they  kept 
aloof  from  American  politics,  neither  taking  any 
interest  or  part  in  them.  It  is  only  lately  that  they 
began  to  appreciate  the  value  of  citizenship  and 
naturalization.  Some  have  already  taken  out  their 
second  papers,  and  a  far  greater  number  their  first 
papers.  It  may  not  be  far  from  the  truth  that  one- 
fifth  of  the  Greeks  are  already  citizens  and  the  num 
ber  is  growing  daily. 


102  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS  AND  FORCES 

No  destructive  organizations. — There  are  no  de 
structive  organizations  among  the  Greeks  in  Amer 
ica,  or  elsewhere.  There  is  a  Greek  socialist  society 
in  New  York,  but  it  is  a  rather  microscopic  affair 
and  is  not  much  heard  of.  Before  1917,  when  open- 
air  meetings  on  radical  questions  were  allowed,  one 
of  the  speakers,  or  rather  salesmen  (for  the  speakers 
aimed  chiefly  at  selling  books  of  the  New  York  Sec 
ular  Society)  was  Greek.  There  may  be  a  few  others 
like  him,  belonging  to  socialist  or  secularist  organi 
zations  ;  but  there  is  no  destructive  organization  dis 
tinctively  Greek. 

Constructive  Greek  societies. — There  are,  how 
ever,  very  many  constructive  Greek  societies,  asso 
ciations,  leagues  or  brotherhoods,  as  they  are  called 
in  all  the  Greek  communities  in  America.  The  num 
ber  and  the  constitution  of  their  organizations  illus 
trate  the  Greek  tendency  to  individualism  and  decen 
tralization.  There  is  no  organization  comprising  all 
the  Greeks  in  a  single  union  or  comprising  all  fac 
tions,  parties  and  localities.  Eepresentatives  of  al 
most  every  prominent  village  or  town  have  formed 
separate  organizations  here  with  a  definite  program 
for  each.  There  is  a  tendency  now  to  group  and 
unite  the  various  local  associations  into  one  central 
one,  which  might  have  branches  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  Thus  there  are  various  local  Samian 
societies;  they  all  unite  in  the  Pan-Samian  society, 
Pythagoras,  with  branches  in  New  York,  Peabody, 
Mass.,  etc.  There  are  various  societies  of  Greeks 
from  Chios.  Then  the  Panchiotic  society, ' '  Koraes, ' ' 
with  its  center  in  New  York. 

There  are  over  80  or  90  Greek  societies  in  New 
York  City  alone,  with  many  others  scattered  in  all 
the  Greek  communities  in  the  United  States  and 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  103 

Canada.  A  good  many  exist  in  name  only.  They 
have  been  formed  at  a  time  of  enthusiasm  for  some 
definite  object,  then  the  founders  leave  or  die  or 
the  original  object  is  no  more  pressing,  and  they 
are  forgotten  or  dissolved. 

Each  society  has  an  executive  committee,  with 
president,  vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer  and 
councilors,  and  various  sub-committees,  e.g.,  audit 
ing  committee.  Some  have  regular  collectors  who 
are  paid  for  their  labor,  a  fact  indicating  the  diffi 
culty  in  collecting  dues.  Some  have  rented  halls 
with  library,  newspapers,  and  a  coffee-house  where 
members  and  others  can  have  refreshments,  rest  and 
play  the  usual  games.  Such  are  the  Lacedaemonian 
society  of  the  Spartans,  Marmoras;  Hellespont  so 
ciety  of  the  Madytians;  The  Castorian  society, 
"Omonia,"  New  York  City;  Panchiotic  society, 
"Koraes,"  New  York  City,  etc.  Others  have  no 
special  office  or  hall,  but  are  known  by  the  address 
of  the  president,  secretary  or  treasurer.  It  may  be 
some  barber  shop,  bakery,  tailor  shop,  hotel  or  res 
taurant  or  grocery.  With  the  change  of  the  officers 
the  address  changes. 

Mutual  Benevolence. — A  good  many  of  them  are 
mutual  benevolent  societies,  each  member  contrib 
uting  a  monthly  or  weekly  fee  and  receiving  an  al 
lowance  in  case  of  sickness.  It  is  also  part  of  the 
plan  to  help  their  poor  compatriots  in  case  of  sick 
ness,  and  provide  for  their  funeral  if  they  die. 

Others  have  in  view  to  render  some  help  to  their 
native  town  or  village  in  Greece  or  Turkey,  etc.,  in 
church  or  school  work,  or  some  public  utility. 

Some  have  an  educational  program  with  evening 
classes  in  Greek,  English  and  other  courses.  They 
also  hold  courses  of  lectures  and  addresses  on  Sun 
days.  Such  is  Plato,  an  educational  society,  New 
York. 

Most  of  these  societies  are  social  and  educational 


104  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

centers  as  well  as  serving  benevolent  ends.  They 
give  their  annual  reception  in  one  of  the  theaters  or 
halls  to  which  the  whole  Greek  community  of  the 
town  is  invited,  admission  being  by  ticket,  and  the 
proceeds  go  to  defray  the  expenses  and  the  surplus 
to  the  society's  work  or  some  definite  benevolent 
end,  as  relief  work. 

In  recent  years  some  of  the  most  prominent  and 
wealthier  societies  like  the  Lacedaemonian  Society, 
Greek  American  Florist  Association,  Greek  Ladies 
Benevolent  Society,  all  of  New  York,  have  been  hold 
ing  their  receptions  at  the  Waldorf  Astoria,  Hotel 
Astor  or  Commodore.  The  decorations  and  the  gen 
eral  arrangements  in  the  hall  are  carried  out  by  a 
decorating  committee  of  the  society,  who  display 
such  good  taste  and  produce  such  fine  effects  that 
their  work  would  be  a  credit  even  to  a  well-organized 
American  society  or  club.  Societies  in  Chicago, 
Pittsburg,  Boston,  and  elsewhere  do  similar  work 
with  similar  effects.  Some  have  annual  dinners, 
New  Year  and  Christmas  parties  or  arrange  Christ 
mas  trees  for  the  children. 

Relation  to  Sunday  observance. — The  only  objec 
tion  from  the  American  Protestant  standpoint  would 
be  that  all  the  picnics  and  many  social  affairs  are 
held  on  Sunday,  which  is  observed,  customarily, 
as  a  pleasure  day.  There  also  may  be  an  objection 
to  some  dances  from  the  evangelical  standpoint. 
Greeks  have  what  is  commonly  known  as  the  Conti 
nental  Sunday.  Some  may  attend  church  service 
in  the  morning  and  devote  the  rest  of  the  day  to 
pleasure  and  recreation.  Others  do  the  same  for 
the  whole  day,  omitting  church  attendance. 

There  are  one  or  two  other  organizations  that 
require  special  mention.  I  have  already  mentioned 
the  "Greek  Students '  Association  Helicon."  There 
is  a  similar  organization  in  New  York,  the  Greek- 
American  Inter-Collegiate  League,  consisting  of 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  105 

leading  physicians,  lawyers,  engineers  and  literary 
men.  They  have  regular  monthly  meetings  at  which 
living  scientific  topics  are  discussed.  Part  of  their 
program  is  to  spread  scientific  and  hygienic  infor 
mation  among  their  people.  They  have  circulated 
a  pamphlet  on  tuberculosis  in  Greek,  and  are  plan 
ning  to  send  out  other  leaflets  treating  of  social 
problems.  Such  organizations  would  grow  more, 
and  exert  greater  influence,  if  branches  were  formed 
in  other  Greek  centers,  because  there  are  many  cul 
tured  and  able  college  and  university  men  scattered 
in  various  communities.  They  would  be  of  great 
power  if  they  could  all  be  united  in  a  well-organized 
association. 

The  Pan-Hellenic  Union  of  America,  as  its  name 
indicates,  aims  at  uniting  all  the  Greeks  in  the 
United  States,  irrespective  of  political  views  or  place 
of  birth,  in  one  organization,  with  the  center  in 
New  York  and  branches  in  all  the  prominent  com 
munities,  thus  rising  above  the  limitations  of  the 
other  local  societies.  Among  its  objects  are  included 
the  giving  of  a  social  center  to  the  Greeks  with  read 
ing  room,  and  assembly  hall  for  lectures,  addresses, 
and  social  occasions;  to  conduct  evening  classes  in 
English  and  other  practical  and  business  courses; 
to  establish  scholarships  to  help  deserving  students 
to  take  practical  and  scientific  courses  in  American 
institutions;  to  provide  funds  for  charitable  work, 
especially  under  the  care  of  the  women's  branch; 
to  have  information  and  employment  bureaus  for 
the  benefit  of  immigrants,  and  to  help  all  patriotic 
causes.  Thus  the  union  has  a  broad  and  compre 
hensive  program,  but  unfortunately  it  is  not  put  into 
action.  In  the  first  place  its  very  aim  defeats  it. 
Greeks  being  individualists  and  under  the  sway  of 
local  influences,  they  form  smaller  local  societies, 
just  as  they  had  city  states  in  ancient  Greece,  and 
failed  to  organize  one  big  ''United  States/'  Then, 


106  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

the  union  has  been  made  an  object  of  attack  and 
criticism  as  if  it  were  a  partisan  institution,  hence 
it  has  the  support  of  only  one  party  at  present,  the 
Venizelists. 

Before  and  during  the  Balkan  wars,  the  Pan-Hel 
lenic  Union  rendered  noble  and  enthusiastic  service 
to  the  Greek  cause.  It  raised  large  sums  of  money, 
and  armed  and  sent  to  the  Balkan  front  soldiers 
free  of  all  charge  to  the  Greek  government. 

Pan-Epirotic  Union. — The  Pan-Epirotic  Union  of 
Boston,  with  branches  in  other  parts  of  the  United 
States  should  be  mentioned.  It  was  organized  to  de 
fend  the  claims  of  Greece  to  Northern  Epirus.  In 
1918  the  Union  raised  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
among  its  members  and  friends,  for  the  relief  of  suf 
fering  Greeks  in  Asia  Minor  and  Thrace.  Northern 
Epirus  claimed  by  the  Albanians  and  Italians  was 
truly  Greek  at  heart  and  responded  sympathetically 
towards  relief  of  their  brethren  oppressed  under  the 
Turkish  yoke. 

Through  the  activities  of  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union, 
there  was  organized  the  League  of  the  Friends  of 
Greece  in  the  same  center  as  the  Union,  but  with  a 
wider  scope,  i.  e.,  to  defend  the  rights  of  Greece  in 
all  the  regions  under  dispute,  Thrace,  Asia  Minor, 
Dodecanese,  as  well  as  Northern  Epirus. 

Loyalist  or  Royalist  Leagues. — There  are  what 
are  called  Loyalist  organizations  in  various  Greek 
communities  with  headquarters  in  New  York.  How 
ever,  they  do  nothing  constructive.  Their  main  ob 
jective  is  propaganda  in  favor  of  King  Constantine 
or  the  Eoyalist  party,  sending  him  congratulatory 
cablegrams,  or  messages  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  denouncing  Venizelos  and  his  policy. 
The  Loyalist  Weekly  is  their  organ.  The  Venizel 
ists  are  organized  into  what  is  called  the  League  of 
Liberals,  with  branches  in  many  states.  They  have 
state  and  federal  organizations.  The  Federal  head- 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  107 

quarters  are  in  New  York.  Their  official  organ,  a 
weekly,  published  in  New  York,  is  called  The  Liberal 
Bulletin.  A  part  of  their  program  is  the  establish 
ment  of  a  republic  in  Greece.  Unfortunately  these 
parties  divide  the  Greeks  into  the  fighting  camps 
so  that  the  Eoyalist  and  Venizelos  controversy  and 
discussions  are  carried  on  constantly  in  houses, 
stores,  coffee-houses,  churches,  and  everywhere. 
Often  members  of  the  same  family  are  divided 
against  each  other. 

Greek-American  Boy  Scouts. — There  is  in  New 
York  the  Greek- American  Boy  Scouts  organization, 
under  Koyalist  control  and  direction,  which  fact  un 
fortunately  limits  its  usefulness,  regarded  as  par 
tisan  and  for  political  ends.  It  ought  to  have  been 
a  real  Greek  American  organization  for  all  the 
Greeks,  supported  by  all,  irrespective  of  political 
views,  for  the  good  of  the  rising  generation.  What 
ever  King  Midas  of  Phrygia  touched  turned  to  gold; 
whatever  Greeks  touch  becomes  political.  Politi 
cians  are  managing  to  make  capital  out  of  everything 
for  their  own  ends. 


EDUCATIONAL  FOKCES 

Attend  public  schools. — Greeks  seek  wisdom. 
Wherever  they  go,  they  open  and  support  schools. 
Parents  are  anxious  to  educate  their  children  well. 
So  they  are  very  glad  to  take  advantage  of  the  pub 
lic  schools.  All  children  of  school  age  attend  public 
schools,  excepting  a  small  number  that  go  to  pri 
vate  schools.  The  public  school  is  a  melting  pot 
where  children  of  all  races  are  receiving  the  same 
training.  They  all  learn  English,  sing  patriotic  and 
popular  American  songs,  play  American  games,  sa 
lute  and  respect  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  when  they 
finish  the  public  school  or  reach  high  school,  they  are 
already  Americanized. 


108  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Greek  American  Institute. — There  are  no  pa 
rochial  schools  among  the  Greeks  of  the  type  preva 
lent  among  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  only  school 
approaching  that  type  is  the  Greek  American  Insti 
tute,  Eagle  Avenue,  New  York  City.  It  is  regarded 
as  a  typical  institution  where  Greek  children  should 
receive  an  education  similar  to  that  in  the  American 
public  schools  while  getting  at  the  same  time  train 
ing  in  the  Greek  language,  institutions,  and  Greek 
Orthodox  doctrine.  It  is  supposed  it  will  serve  as 
the  Acropolis  of  Hellenism,  preserving  the  Greek 
language  and  religion,  besides  giving  the  children 
the  essentials  of  American  education.  Some  200 
pupils  attend  it.  It  has  a  boarding  as  well  as  day 
school  department. 

Church  schools. — There  has  recently  been  opened 
a  number  of  schools  connected  with  the  Greek 
churches  or  communities  in  the  United  States. 
Church  and  school  go  hand  in  hand  among  the 
Greeks  in  all  lands.  Education  has  been  entrusted 
to  the  church.  There  are  some  150  Greek  churches 
in  the  United  States,  but  only  40  to  50  schools,  but 
the  number  is  growing.  The  plan  is  to  gather  the 
children  after  school  hours  from  4-6  or  7  P.M.  to 
teach  them  only  the  rudiments  of  the  Greek 
language  and  Greek  religious  instruction  similar  to 
that  in  Greece,  i.  e.,  Sacred  History,  consisting  of 
the  story  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments,  and 
elementary  catechism.  All  the  other  subjects  are 
taught  in  the  public  schools  in  English.  Such  schools 
are  usually  in  the  basement  of  the  church,  not  very 
sunny  or  conducive  to  the  health  of  the  children. 
Some  churches  are  planning  to  build  separate  school 
buildings,  and  all  is  being  carried  out  by  private 
donations  and  contributions. 

Private  schools. — There  are  a  number  of  private 
schools  in  New  York  and  other  centers  where  chil 
dren  and  adults  learn  Greek.  Some  are  night 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  109 

schools,  others  give  instruction  during  the  day  also. 
Some  adults  have  learned  reading  and  writing  in 
such  schools.  Then  there  are  private  day  and  night 
schools  in  the  large  Greek  centers,  to  teach  English 
under  Greek  direction.  Some  schools  have  Ameri 
can  teachers. 

Books  and  newspapers. — Most  of  the  books  pub 
lished  in  Greece  on  history,  biography,  religion,  fic 
tion,  etc.,  can  be  obtained  at  the  principal  Greek 
book  stores,  especially  at  those  of  Atlantis  and  the 
National  Herald,  New  York.  There  are  book  stores 
in  all  the  important  centers.  Besides  original  works 
there  are  many  translations  from  French,  English, 
German  and  Italian,  but  the  first  two  predominate. 
Greeks  in  America  have  contributed  a  number  of 
original  works  including  stories,  fiction,  poems, 
dramas,  and  religion.  There  are  several  transla 
tions  and  adaptations  from  English  into  Greek. 

But  the  chief  contribution  has  been  in  the  line  of 
newspapers  and  monthlies. 

Greeks  carry  with  them  wherever  they  go,  their 
love  for  news.  So  in  America  too,  many  attempts 
are  made  to  meet  their  need  and  cravings.  Many 
Greek  papers  appear  and  disappear  from  time  to 
time. 

The  largest  Greek  newspapers  in  the  world  are 
those  in  New  York,  which  go  all  over  the  United 
States,  Canada,  South  America,  and  even  Greece  and 
Turkey,  in  fact  wherever  Greeks  are  found.  They 
are  Atlantis  and  National  Herald.  The  first  is  the 
oldest  Greek  daily  in  the  United  States.  It  started 
in  1894  as  a  monthly,  then  it  became  bi-monthly, 
weekly,  and  at  last  daily.  It  grew  as  it  went.  The 
second  started  almost  full  grown  from  the  very  be 
ginning,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000  in  1915,  but  it  has 
gained  much  ground  growing  and  improving. 

Both  Atlantis  and  National  Herald  have  illus 
trated  monthly  editions,  with  fine  pictures  illustrat- 


110  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

ing  life  and  scenes  in  America  and  elsewhere.  They 
are  the  best  of  their  kind,  unequaled  in  all  the  Greek 
world,  so  far  as  material  and  pictures  are  concerned. 

Party  spirit. — The  party  opposition  and  rivalry 
among  the  Greeks  appears  in  all  its  bitterness  and 
hatred  in  the  press  which  reflects  and  at  the  same 
time  kindles  and  animates  it.  Atlantis  claims  to  be 
independent.  At  present  it  is  Royalist,  the  National 
Herald,  Venizelist.  Besides  the  party  opposition, 
there  is  the  bitter  newspaper  competition  between 
them,  each  striving  to  supplant  the  other  and  have 
the  whole  field  for  itself.  Atlantis  has  seen  the  rise 
and  fall  of  many  rivals  and  stood  gaining  ground. 

But  the  National  Herald  too,  has  started  vigor 
ously,  fought  valiantly  and  kept  gaining  ground. 

Services  of  the  press. — The  press  is  a  great  power 
among  the  Greeks.  It  meets  a  great  demand. 
Doubtless  it  renders  a  great  service  to  the  public  in 

feneral,  the  Greeks  in  particular,  and  to  the  United 
tates  Government.  Whatever  bitter  differences 
and  quarrels  newspapers  may  have  among  them 
selves  they  all  defend  the  United  States  Government. 
They  urge  the  people  to  learn  English  and  to  re 
spect  and  obey  the  laws.  They  publish  and  explain 
all  the  news  concerning  the  public  welfare. 

They  give  also  prominent  space  to  all  matters  con 
cerning  the  Liberty  and  Victory  Loans,  Red  Cross, 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  other  humanitarian 
organizations.  They  preach  Americanization. 

Besides  they  are  educating  and  informing  the 
Greeks  on  many  valuable  points  in  hygiene,  manners, 
and  social  conditions.  Many  ignorant  Greeks  are 
improving  their  Greek  and  general  knowledge  by 
the  newspapers. 

Leadership. — As  in  Greece,  so  in  America,  it  is 
difficult  to  be  a  leader  among  the  Greeks.  They  are 
too  individualistic  and  all  aspire  to  leadership. 
Their  weakness  lies  in  their  factiousness  and  eager- 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  111 

ness  for  dispute  and  controversy,  quibbling  and  so 
phistication.  This  weakens  their  moral  influence 
and  diminishes  their  usefulness.  The  difficulty  is 
enhanced  by  political  divisions,  as  politics  pervade 
all  departments,  the  church  as  well  as  secular  con 
cerns.  Hence  the  followers  of  one  party  are  not 
willing  to  be  led  by  leaders  in  the  churches,  the  press 
or  diplomatic  service  who  are  of  a  different  party. 

Quotations  on  leadership. — Some  of  the  answers 
my  correspondents  gave  as  to  leadership  among  the 
Greeks  are  as  follows : 

"Hardly  any";  "They  are  taken  care  of  by  good 
leaders ";  "Inspiring;  good;  at  present  there  is  good 

leadership,  through  the  Hellenic  Society  of  

which  controls  Church  affairs  also;"  "None  of 
any  consequence;"  "Every  one  wants  to  be  the 
leader,  so  they  do  not  readily  follow  their  leaders." 

Many  correspondents  had  left  blank  this  question. 

As  leaders  among  the  Greeks  in  America  I  would 
mention. 

1 — The  press;  the  newspapers  reach  and  influence 
a  wider  group  than  any  other  factor. 

2 — The  church  leaders:  the  bishops  and  other 
clergy.  In  spite  of  the  lack  of  culture  and  fitness  for 
leadership  of  a  good  many  priests,  they  are  a  power 
in  Greek  communities,  as  they  come  into  touch  with 
the  people  at  important  occasions,  such  as  sickness, 
marriage,  baptism,  and  death. 

3 — Those  in  diplomatic  service  at  the  Legation 
at  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  the  consulates  at  various 
places.  As  official  representatives  of  the  Greek  na 
tion,  the  people  have  to  apply  to  them  on  many  occa 
sions  for  advice,  as  well  as  for  official  functions. 
They  have  much  influence  which  would  have  been 
greater,  had  it  not  been  for  political  factions. 

4 — The  literary  and  educated  men,  such  as  physi 
cians,  lawyers,  writers,  and  teachers,  play  an  impor 
tant  part  in  the  life  of  the  communities.  At  various 


112  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

gatherings,  people  look  up  to  them  to  act  and  speak. 

5 — Prominent  and  successful  business  men,  espe 
cially  those  devoted  to  generous  giving. 

6 — The  presidents  and  other  officers  of  the  various 
societies  and  clubs.  They  often  sway  the  members 
and  friends  of  their  organizations. 

FORCES  OF  ASSIMILATION 

Americanization. — A  great  deal  is  being  said  and 
written  regarding  the  Americanization  or  assimila 
tion  of  the  immigrants  that  seems  strange.  Some  of 
the  heated  utterances  sound  like  the  nationalistic 
theories  of  the  Pan-Germans  or  the  Pan-Slavists.  If 
the  various  races  are  to  be  forced  to  forget  all  their 
racial  peculiarities  and  characteristic  customs, 
usages,  and  language,  and  to  adopt  American  ways, 
instead,  the  result  will  be  disappointing.  Whenever 
a  people  is  forced  to  accept,  willingly  or  unwillingly, 
a  certain  course  of  action,  the  result  has  usually  been 
the  opposite  of  what  was  desired. 

But  if  without  being  interfered  with  in  their  cher 
ished  customs,  ideas,  language  and  traditions,  they 
are  surrounded  with  a  genial  American  atmosphere 
and  are  given  suitable  opportunities  to  learn  Ameri 
can  ways,  ideas,  language  and  institutions ;  in  short, 
if  they  are  gradually  taught  what  is  good  in  their 
new  surroundings,  while  they  retain  what  was  good 
and  useful  in  their  former  life,  all  the  immigrants 
will  be  Americanized  in  due  time. 

Even  the  word  "Americanization"  sounds  strange 
to  many  ears ;  it  sounds  like  suppression,  force.  Let 
the  immigrant  have  freedom  to  contribute  his  best 
to  the  welfare  of  America.  As  the  various  races 
have  brought  their  national  dishes,  customs  and 
usages,  so  let  each  contribute  his  peculiar  talent  and 
accomplishment  in  art,  letters  or  business,  though 
he  may  be  deficient  in  the  knowledge  of  the  English 
language. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  113 

Americanization  of  the  children. — Many  a  simple, 
illiterate  immigrant  may  turn  out  to  be  more  loyal 
to  America,  than  the  so  called  cultivated  theorists 
who  can  chatter,  parrot-like,  good  English,  but  are 
unsound  in  morals  and  unprincipled  in  action.  It  is 
difficult  and  in  some  cases  impossible  to  change  the. 
habits  of  the  adult.  It  is  different  with  the  young 
and  the  children.  They  are  open  to  impressions, 
and  the  future  lies  with  them.  They  will  all  get 
Americanized  through  education.  The  public  school 
is  the  melting  pot  where  children  of  all  races  are 
being  assimilated.  Many  Greek  children  who  are 
being  educated  in  American  schools,  answer  their 
parents  in  English  who  speak  to  them  in  Greek. 

The  evening  schools  are  of  immense  value.  Both 
men  and  women  are  attending  evening  classes,  in 
the  public  schools,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  various  Greek 
societies. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.— The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  bringing  many 
Greeks  into  contact  with  American  ways,  ideas,  cus 
toms,  and  moral  and  spiritual  ideals.  A  great  many 
are  now  joining  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  In  New  York,  the  23rd  Street  Branch 
is  becoming  a  center  for  foreign  born  men.  A  Greek 
branch  had  165  Greeks  connected  with  it  in  1920  and 
300  in  1921.  Special  social  gatherings  are  held 
where  Greeks  and  Americans  meet,  get  acquainted 
and  discover  unexpected  qualities  and  attractions  in 
each  other.  Meetings  for  Greeks  are  held,  addressed 
by  prominent  Greeks  and  Americans.  Evening 
classes  of  various  kinds  are  held.  A  Greek  musician 
gives  lessons  on  the  violin,  guitar  and  mandolin. 
Many  are  interested  by  assignment  to  various  sub 
committees.  A  Greek  assists  the  American  Secre 
taries  and  their  program  includes  helping  the  immi 
grants  on  landing  at  Ellis  Island,  finding  them  lodg 
ings  and  employment  and  helping  them  in  other 
ways.  Some  young  Greeks  room  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 


114  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

buildings.  The  athletic,  recreational,  and  social  fea 
tures  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  its  Bible  classes  and 
Sunday  afternoon  gatherings  are  valuable  influences. 

Y.  W.  C.  A. — The  International  Institutes  of  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  are  doing  similar  work  among  young 
women.  The  International  Institute,  121  E.  22nd 
Street,  New  York,  has  a  "P.  A.  A."  (the  initials  of 
the  Greek  words  meaning  patriotism,  devotion  and 
mutual  help),  a  club  for  Greek  girls,  who  meet 
monthly  for  lectures,  social  gatherings  with  music, 
and  other  attractive  features,  and  to  give  assistance 
to  Greek  immigrants.  There  are  also  Greek  branches 
in  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  San  Francisco.  Theatres, 
motion  pictures,  concerts  and  lectures,  trade  and 
business  relations,  and  many  other  points  of  contact 
between  Greeks  and  Americans  in  daily  life,  are  con 
tributing  their  share  in  getting  the  immigrants  ac 
quainted  with  American  life  and  ideas. 

There  are  certain  other  organizations  whose  pro 
gram  is  Americanization,  as  the  Greek  American 
League,  56  Pine  Street,  New  York.  Its  main  activity 
consists  in  an  annual  dinner  thus  bringing  together 
many  prominent  Americans  and  Greeks  at  a  social 
gathering. 

Similar  organizations  exist  in  Springfield,  Mass., 
Peabody,  Mass.,  Chicago,  and  other  Greek  centers. 

Greeks  are  more  and  more  reading  American 
newspapers  and  periodicals  which  are  all  exerting 
great  influence  in  educating  and  Americanizing  them. 

Certain  industrial  corporations  as  the  Ford  works, 
Detroit,  Mich.,  are  conducting  classes  in  English  and 
civics,  with  good  results. 

I  have  read  of  an  illiterate  Greek  condemned  to 
eight  years'  imprisonment,  who  decided  to  put  into 
good  use  his  term  in  prison,  and  learned  English  and 
got  an  education. 

Majority  clannish. — All  the  above-mentioned  in 
fluences  touch  only  a  section  of  the  Greeks.  The 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  115 

majority  are  living  an  insular  or  clannish  life,  fre 
quenting  the  Greek  centers,  clubs  and  coffee-houses 
and  all  the  time  associated  with  their  compatriots 
only.  So  that  they  do  not  learn  English  and  cannot 
get  American  ideas. 


RESULTS  AS  KEFLECTED  IN  WAE  SERVICE 

Loyal  service  in  war. — The  Greeks  proved  their 
loyalty  to  the  United  States  and  the  cause  of  the 
Allies,  by  enlisting  in  great  numbers  to  serve  under 
the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Some  60,000  thus  rendered 
valuable  service  in  the  war.  Those  from  Greece 
proper  according  to  an  agreement  between  Greece 
and  the  United  States  by  service  under  the  American 
flag  were  counted  as  under  the  Greek  flag.  Others 
were  from  Turkey,  and  as  such  might  have  claimed 
exemption  as  enemy  aliens.  But  very  few  took  ad 
vantage  of  this  opportunity.  Proportionately  a 
greater  number  of  Greeks  were  enlisted  in  the  United 
States,  as  many  of  them  were  young  men  without 
families,  and  of  military  age.  Many  Greeks  were 
cited  for  distinguished  service  in  France. 

Bought  Liberty  bonds. — Greeks  bought  exten 
sively  of  Liberty  and  Victory  bonds.  According  to 
figures  published  in  the  Greek  press,  they  bought 
over  $30,000,000  worth,  during  the  third  Liberty 
Loan  campaign  alone.  Men,  women  and  even  chil 
dren  took  a  prominent  part  during  all  the  campaigns, 
selling  Liberty  Bonds.  The  clergy,  the  societies,  es 
pecially  the  press,  did  their  best  in  promoting  the 
various  drives.  They  also  contributed  liberally  to 
the  Ked  Cross  and  other  benevolent  organizations. 
Many  florists,  confectioners  and  others  offered  their 
proceeds  for  one  or  more  days,  sometimes  a  whole 
week,  to  such  patriotic  and  philanthropic  causes. 

Greek  relief  committee. — One  of  the  organizations 
formed  to  assist  war  sufferers  in  Thrace  and  Asia 


116  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Minor  and  refugees  from  those  territories  in  Greece 
and  the  islands  was  the  Belief  Committee  for  Greeks 
of  Asia  Minor,  with  offices  at  1  Madison  Avenue, 
New  York,  cooperating  with  the  Near  East  Belief. 
The  contributions  came  mainly  from  Greek  sources 
and  all  the  appropriations  were  doubled  by  the  Near 
East  Relief  and  used  for  Greek  relief  in  regions 
designated  by  the  Greek  committee.  The  clergy,  the 
societies  and  many  individuals  contributed  gener 
ously.  Its  receipts,  amounting  to  some  $250,000 
were  doubled  by  the  Near  East  Belief,  so  that 
$500,000  have  been  spent  for  the  relief  of  suffering 
Greeks  in  Asia  Minor  and  elsewhere. 

Services  of  the  committee. — The  committee  ren 
dered  much  valuable  service  in  transmitting  money, 
clothing,  and  other  goods  from  many  Greeks  in  the 
United  States  to  their  relatives  in  Turkey,  through 
the  Near  East  Belief,  especially  during  the  war  when 
there  was  no  other  channel  to  reach  Turkey.  The 
committee  besides  its  humanitarian  work,  repre 
sents  an  excellent  type  of  Americanization  work  also. 

Misunderstandings  corrected. — This  committee 
and  its  work  has  helped  greatly  in  breaking  down 
prejudices  and  misconceptions  on  both  sides.  The 
Greeks  were  extremely  suspicious  of  any  organiza 
tion  or  activities  in  which  missionaries  were  in 
volved.  When  the  committee  started  in  1917,  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  opposition  on  the  part  of  a  num 
ber  of  Greeks.  But  it  gradually  waned  and  disap 
peared  and  almost  all  came  to  appreciate  the  commit 
tee  and  the  self-sacrificing  work  of  the  relief  workers 
among  whom  there  were  many  missionaries. 

There  have  come  many  expressions  of  apprecia 
tion  and  letters  of  thanks  from  the  Greek  Patriarch 
ate,  Constantinople,  the  various  bishops,  and  other 
leading  Greeks  in  Greece  and  Turkey,  both  to  the 
American  and  the  Greek  committee. 

There  was  also  a  good  deal  of  misunderstanding 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  117 

on  the  part  of  the  missionaries  regarding  the  Greeks, 
and  American  missionaries  generally  were  unfavor 
ably  inclined  towards  them.  Some  even  thought  they 
were  obstinate,  distant,  and  unsympathetic.  Yet 
those  who  came  into  touch  with  them  through  the  re 
lief  work  were  impressed  so  favorably,  that  some 
became  enthusiastic  about  them.  Many  Americans 
contributed  both  money  and  service  to  the  cause. 
The  Greeks  know  their  friends  and  feel  deeply  grate 
ful  for  such  sympathy  and  helpfulness.  Such  mu 
tual  acquaintance  and  cooperation  continues  on  the 
other  side  too  in  the  actual  field  of  relief  activities. 
In  July,  1921,  the  Greek  Relief  Committee  handed 
its  work  over  to  the  Near  East  Eelief  which  con 
tinues  the  work. 

Another  organization  that  helped  greatly  in  bring 
ing  Americans  and  Greeks  to  better  acquaintance 
with  and  appreciation  of  each  other  was  the  Ameri 
can  Hellenic  Society  under  the  Presidency  of  Dr. 
Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  President  of  Columbia 
University.  Its  main  object  was  to  bring  the  Greek 
cause  before  the  American  people  and  enlighten 
them  on  Greek  questions,  but  it  did  a  great  deal  in 
winning  the  Greeks  to  American  ideals  and  institu 
tions.  The  Society  published  several  books  and 
booklets  on  Greek  affairs,  especially  the  political 
situation.  It  was  discontinued  November  14,  1920. 

Similarly  the  Bed  Cross,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the 
Y.  "W.  C.  A.  have  done  much  to  impress  on  the  immi 
grant  as  well  as  the  people  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor 
the  true  ideals  of  Americanism.  They  have  shown 
the  best  in  America  and  have  attracted  the  love  and 
admiration  of  all  towards  America  and  the  Ameri 
can  people. 

Many  who  are  unable  to  utter  a  word  in  English 
are  truly  devoted  to  American  ideals  as  a  result  of 
the  varied  activities  of  the  above  mentioned  organi 
zations. 


Chapter  IV 
THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  (Continued) 

GREEK    CHUECHES 

Almost  all  the  Greeks  in  America,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  a  few  Protestants  and  Catholics,  belong 
to  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church;  even  the  indifferent 
and  the  non-churchgoers  regarding  themselves  as 
Greek  church  people. 

Greek  communities. — We  have  already  spoken 
(in  Chapter  II)  of  the  Greek  community  organiza 
tion.  The  directors  are  usually  laymen  who  control 
the  affairs  of  their  group.  The  position  of  the  priest 
in  a  community  until  1918  was  somewhat  irregular 
and  not  well  defined.  Generally  he  was  at  the  mercy 
of  the  trustees  who  invited  and  dismissed  him  as 
they  pleased.  He  was  free  in  the  performance  of 
religious  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  was  responsible 
to  his  religious  superiors  in  Greece  or  Constanti 
nople. 

Supervision  of  the  churches. — The  Ecumenical 
Patriarchate  in  Constantinople,  constituting  the 
highest  authority  in  the  Greek  church,  claimed  and 
had  the  right  of  founding  and  supervising  churches 
in  America.  It  transferred,  however,  this  right  to 
the  Holy  Synod  of  Greece  in  1908.  Until  recently, 
the  whole  matter  of  the  organization  and  supervision 
of  the  Greek  churches  was  ill-defined  and  neglected 
and  Congregationalism  reigned  supreme  in  an  epis 
copal  church.  Individuals  organized  a  community, 
owned  property  and  found  a  priest  to  carry  on  the 
religious  services,  as  independent  bodies.  Some 
secured  their  priests  through  the  patriarchate  and 

118 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  119 

others  from  the  Synod  of  Greece.  There  have  been 
cases  of  individuals  unconnected  with  either,  and 
without  proper  credentials  of  ordination,  acting  as 
priests,  in  isolated  colonies  or  communities. 

Theoretically  all  the  Greeks  in  a  given  locality  con 
stitute  the  Greek  community  there.  In  recent  years, 
however,  there  has  been  laid  down  a  rule,  that  only 
those  who  pay  certain  yearly  dues  are  regarded  as 
members  and  have  the  right  to  vote  and  be  elected 
to  an  office  in  the  community. 

Colonies. — There  are  at  present  some  150  com 
munities  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  which  are 
organized  with  churches  or  halls  owned  or  rented. 
There  are  numerous  unorganized  Greek  colonies 
scattered  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
Priests  from  the  neighboring  community  visit  them 
occasionally  to  perform  marriages,  baptisms  and 
other  ceremonies,  often  using  the  local  Episcopal 
church.  There  are  four  communities  in  Manhattan, 
one  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y. ;  one  in  Newark,  N.J. ;  one  in 
"West  Orange,  N.J.  There  are  colonies  in  Elizabeth, 
Perth  Amboy,  Trenton,  Hoboken,  Jersey  City,  N.J.; 
Poughkeepsie,  Yonkers,  Albany,  Troy,  and  New- 
burgh,  N.Y.,  and  in  many  other  centers  and  states. 

Organization  of  the  churches. — In  1918  Arch 
bishop  Meletios  Metaxakis,  then  Metropolitan  of 
Athens  and  Primate  of  Greece,  accompanied  by 
other  prominent  ecclesiastics,  visited  the  United 
States.  Plans  were  then  laid  down  for  the  organiza 
tion  and  systematization  of  the  church  work  in 
America.  The  plan  provided  for  an  archbishop, 
probably  with  seat  at  Washington,  D.C.,  and  two  or 
three  bishops  with  New  York,  Chicago,  Lowell  or 
San  Francisco  as  their  respective  seats.  There  were 
financial  and  other  difficulties  in  carrying  it  out, 
the  main  one  being  how  to  harmonize  the  right  of 
jurisdiction  and  administration  by  the  church  of 
Greece,  an  established  and  state  church,  over  congre- 


120  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

gations  constituted  as  corporate  bodies  and  holding 
property  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  Ultimately  there  will  doubtless  be  an  Inde 
pendent  Greek  Orthodox  Church  of  America  as  in 
various  patriarchates,  and  the  national  churches  of 
Greece,  Rumania,  etc. 

Pending  further  settlement  of  the  organization  of 
the  churches,  Archbishop  Meletios  left  Bishop  Alex 
ander  Rodostolou  as  delegate  of  the  Holy  Synod  of 
Greece,  to  supervise  the  Greek  churches  in  America. 
The  office  of  the  delegation  is  at  140  E.  72nd  Street, 
New  York.  He  has  visited  various  Greek  communi 
ties  and  is  completing  plans  for  the  better  organiza 
tion  of  the  work. 

The  priests  of  the  churches  at  New  York  under  the 
presidency  of  Bishop  Eodostolou  constitute  the 
sacred  court  which  acts  in  all  cases  of  discipline,  di 
vorce,  etc. 

Politics  and  churches. — Politics  continue  to  have 
their  factional  influence  even  in  ecclesiastical  mat 
ters.  The  leaders  of  the  Royalists,  or  the  Constan- 
tine  Party,  characterized  the  delegation  as  Venizelist 
and  tried  to  divide  the  churches  on  political  grounds. 
In  general,  however  the  communities  were  united  in 
acknowledging  and  respecting  the  authority  of  the 
delegation,  in  spite  of  the  political  views  of  the  in 
dividuals,  priests,  or  layman  until  June,  1921.  The 
fall  of  Venizelos  on  Nov.  14,  1920  had  far  reach 
ing  consequences  in  the  church  both  in  Greece 
and  America.  The  revolutionary  government  of 
Venizelos  started  at  Salonica  in  1917.  The  Holy 
Synod  of  Greece  under  the  presidency  of  Metropoli 
tan  Theocletos,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Court  ana 
thematized  Venizelos,  not  for  any  spiritual  offense 
or  heresy  but  to  discredit  him  and  his  act  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people.  After  the  exile  of  Constantine  to 
Switzerland,  Venizelos  returned  to  Athens.  A  spe 
cial  ecclesiastical  council  of  bishops,  including  those 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  121 

of  the  new  Grecian  territories,  under  the  presidency 
of  archbishop  Gennadios,  Metropolitan  of  Salonica, 
found  Theocletos  and  some  of  his  associates  guilty 
in  the  matter  of  the  anathema,  unfrocked  them  and 
sent  them  to  monasteries  in  Crete  and  elsewhere. 
Later  Archbishop  Meletios  Metaxakis,  Metropolitan 
of  Kition,  Cyprus,  a  Cretan,  was  called  to  Athens 
as  Metropolitan  and  Primate  of  Greece.  On  Veni- 
zelos'  fall  (Nov.  1920)  the  new  Greek  Government 
asked  Archbishop  Meletios  to  vacate  his  palace  and 
seat  claiming  his  appointment  was  null  and  void. 
He  yielded,  protesting  against  the  interference  of  the 
state  in  affairs  of  the  church,  and  claiming  to  be  the 
lawful  Metropolitan  of  Athens.  The  government  re 
stored  Theocletos  to  the  Metropolitan  throne,  ignor 
ing  the  former  action  of  the  ecclesiastical  council. 
Bishop  Alexander  Eodostolou  in  America  refused  to 
recognize  the  authority  of  the  Synod  and  Metropoli 
tan,  as  they  were  still  under  ecclesiastical  discipline. 
The  Synod  charged  him  with  disloyalty  and  sum 
moned  him  to  Greece.  He  refused  to  obey,  saying 
he  would  acknowledge  fealty  only  to  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople,  the  highest  authority  in  the 
church.  The  Synod  then  appointed  Germanos  Tro- 
janos,  bishop  of  Sparta  and  Monemvasia,  as  Synodi- 
cal  Exarch  in  North  and  South  America.  He 
reached  New  York  in  June,  1921.  His  office  is  at  12 
W.  76th  Street,  New  York  City.  A  part  of  the 
priests  and  communities  acknowledge  Rodostolou 
and  a  part  Trojanos  as  bishop.  Each  claims  a 
majority.  In  December,  1921  a  majority  acknowl 
edged  Bishop  Eodostolou.  The  breach  widens, 
churches  and  communities  are  divided  and  the  effect 
is  depressing  on  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church.  In 
April,  1921,  Archbishop  Meletios  came  to  America. 
He  supported  Rodostolou.  The  patriarchate  at  Con 
stantinople  recognized  him  as  head  of  the  Greek 
Church  in  America  and  refused  to  recognize  the 


122  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Synod  in  Greece.  In  November,  1921,  Meletios  was 
elected  Archbishop  of  Constantinople  and  Ecumeni 
cal  Patriarch.  The  Boyalists  or  Constantinists  re 
fuse  to  recognize  the  election  as  legal.  The  Venizel- 
ists  insist  it  was  the  most  regular  patriarchal  elec 
tion  in  years,  and  whatever  dissensions  there  were 
among  the  bishops,  the  people  of  Constantinople 
were  unanimous.  The  Synod  of  Greece  besides  re 
fusing  recognition  of  Meletios  charged  him  with 
usurpation  of  the  Metropolitan  throne  of  Athens, 
and  starting  schism  in  the  churches  in  America.  He 
was  tried  in  his  absence  and  condemned  to  be  un 
frocked  and  shut  up  in  a  monastery  in  Zanta.  Mele 
tios  regards  his  condemnation  as  a  political  move  by 
the  Court  and  that  the  Synod  was  illegally  composed 
of  unfrocked  clergymen.  It  is  most  unfortunate  that 
the  affairs  of  the  Greek  Church  and  State  are  in 
such  turmoil.  Both  suffer.  All  the  dissensions  are 
probably  symptomatic  of  a  real  need  of  the  Greek 
people — regeneration.  As  Koraes,  one  of  the  mod 
ern  Greece's  great  leaders  said,  " Greeks  will  not 
become  a  great  nation  until  they  become  regenerate 
in  Christ  Jesus. " 

One  of  the  difficulties  in  the  administration  of  the 
Greek  churches  is  the  collision  of  the  Episcopal  rule 
with  the  rights  of  the  congregations  in  the  choice  of 
their  priests.  The  bishop  appoints,  or  removes  the 
priests,  and  his  decision  is  final,  which  often  creates 
dissension. 

Priests. — Some  of  the  priests  in  America  are 
graduates  of  the  University  of  Athens,  or  the  Theo 
logical  School  of  the  patriarchate  at  the  Island  of 
Halki,  near  Constantinople.  But  most  of  them  are 
trained  for  the  priesthood  under  some  bishop  or 
priest.  Preaching  among  the  Greeks  is  usually  ver 
bose,  full  of  rhetoric,  fine  expressions  and  phrases, 
but  devoid  of  variety  or  depth  of  thought.  Or  it 
may  deal  with  abstruse  dogmatic  topics,  illustrating 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  123 

the  fondness  of  the  Greek  mind,  for  theoretical  and 
philosophical  questions.  Consequently  both  ideas 
and  diction  are  often  above  the  heads  of  the  audi- 
once.  There  are  among  them  men  of  ability,  culture 
and  spiritual  power  with  simplicity  of  faith.  But 
unfortunately,  there  are  also  men  full  of  greed  and 
worldliness,  using  the  office  of  priest  simply  as  a 
means  of  material  gain.  Some  are  even  disbelievers 
or  sceptics  and  yet  they  defend  the  minutest  details 
of  the  ceremonials  of  the  church  as  a  national  insti 
tution.  Others  are  well  informed  and  in  full  sym 
pathy  with  the  reform  movement  in  the  Greek 
church.  They  are  very  friendly  to  Protestant  minis 
ters,  organizations  and  churches.  They  use  oppor 
tunities  to  attend  services  and  other  meetings.  They 
take  notes  from  the  sermons  and  preach  them  to 
their  people,  and  are  studying  the  various  vital 
problems  and  questions  in  the  churches.  A  number 
of  them  are  members  of  the  clergy  club,  in  New  York. 
The  Greek  priests  especially  in  large  cities  are  very 
busy.  In  addition  to  the  regular  services  of  the 
church,  there  are  many  calls  for  baptism,  funerals, 
marriages,  visitation  of  the  sick  for  prayer  and  unc 
tion  and  communion  to  the  dying. 

Salaries. — The  priests  in  Greece  and  Turkey  are 
underpaid  and  are  poor  in  general.  But  those  in  the 
United  States  are  well  paid.  In  addition  to  a  salary 
they  get  fees  for  the  various  rites  they  perform,  e.  g., 
weddings,  baptisms,  funerals,  etc.,  and  the  fee  is 
elastic,  left  to  the  discretion  and  social  standing  of 
the  giver.  It  is  customary  while  the  guests  con 
gratulate  the  bride  and  bridegroom  at  the  end  of  the 
marriage  service  for  them  all  to  place  contributions 
in  a  plate.  This  collection  goes  to  the  priest.  A 
priest  in  the  Middle  West  in  1918  sent  $140  as  his 
contribution  to  the  Greek  Eelief  Committee,  repre 
senting  half  of  the  collection  at  the  first  wedding  he 
performed  in  his  new  charge. 


124  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Dress. — Almost  all  the  clergymen  of  the  Greek 
church  in  America  have  adopted  clerical  clothes  and 
collar  and  trim  the  beard  and  hair.  In  Greece  they 
wear  long  robes  with  loose  sleeves,  preacher's  high 
hat,  and  have  long  hair  and  beards,  in  accordance 
with  the  Nazarite  rule  in  the  Old  Testament. 

During  the  church  services  and  ceremonies  they 
put  on  the  usual  gorgeous  ecclesiastical  vestments  as 
in  Greece,  and  all  the  ritual  is  carried  on  as  pre 
scribed  in  the  church  symbolics. 

Greeks  are  very  religious  like  the  Athenians  of 
Paul's  time,  and  deeply  devoted  and  loyal  to  their 
church. 

In  some  families  icons  (pictures  of  Christ  or  the 
saints)  are  kept  in  a  room  facing  the  east,  and  can 
dles  are  lighted  before  them.  There  is  a  household 
altar. 

I  translated,  some  time  ago,  a  letter  from  a  Greek 
in  the  West  to  an  Armenian  goldsmith  in  New  York, 
asking  for  an  icon  of  St.  George,  because  he  was 
alone  and  far  from  Greek  communities  and  churches 
and  wanted  to  have  it  in  his  room  as  a  reminder  of 
his  religion. 

Church  attendance. — Some  churches  are  well  at 
tended  all  the  year  round,  and  at  Easter  and  certain 
other  festival  seasons,  especially  during  Holy  Week, 
all  churches  are  crowded.  But  generally  attendance 
on  other  occasions  is  small.  I  asked  a  priest  in  the 
Middle  West  if  he  preached  to  his  people.  His  re 
ply  was  "They  do  not  come  to  the  services.  Every 
Sunday  there  are  some  10-15  persons,  and  almost 
the  same  set  of  people  every  week,  what  is  the  use 
of  preaching  to  them. ' '  And  yet  there  was  a  strong 
Greek  community  in  the  city  of  at  least  1,000.  In 
another  city  I  attended  a  service  on  Sunday  morning 
in  which  there  were  some  25-30  persons  present,  out 
of  a  Greek  population  of  700-800.  This  was  in  sum- 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  125 

mer.  But  I  was  told  it  is  not  much  better  in  winter. 
The  same  is  true  of  many  other  communities. 

Worldliness. — This  is  partly  due  to  religious  in 
difference  and  worldliness  of  the  people,  and  partly, 
probably  with  a  good  many,  to  the  rush  and  tear  of 
American  life.  Worldliness  dominates  the  people 
and  things  spiritual  recede  into  the  background.  All 
work  hard  and  get  tired  on  week  days,  and  are  anx 
ious  to  rest  physically  on  Sundays,  so  they  get  up 
late  and  spend  the  rest  of  the  day  in  outings,  visit 
ing  and  amusement.  Even  those  who  attend  the 
morning  church  service  spend  the  rest  of  the  day  in 
pleasure.  Sunday  observance  among  the  Greeks 
everywhere  is  the  continental  and  not  the  Puritan 
method.  Even  church  attendance  with  a  good  many 
is  perfunctory,  consisting  of  a  brief  time  at  the  mass, 
lighting  a  candle  before  the  icon  and  making  the 
sign  of  the  cross.  Many  indulge  in  conversation  dur 
ing  the  services. 

America  has  had  influence  in  modifying  certain 
religious  practices  among  the  Greeks.  Thus  fasting 
is  almost  abandoned,  except  on  certain  days  during 
Lent  and  that  in  a  limited  circle,  whereas  in  the  old 
country  and  in  the  rural  regions  they  are  more  strict, 
especially  women.  The  fast  days  are  50  days  before 
Easter;  40  days  before  Christmas;  15  days  in  Au 
gust  before  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption  of  Mary, 
and  the  Fast  of  the  Apostles  in  June,  the  number  of 
days  varying,  according  to  the  proximity  of  Easter 
which  falls  between  March  23rd  and  April  24th. 
Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  throughout  the  year  are 
also  fast  days.  Fasting  is  abstinence  from  meat  and 
following  a  vegetarian  diet,  even  butter,  milk  and 
eggs  are  not  allowed.  Fish  and  olive  oil  are  allowed, 
but  not  during*  Lent,  excepting  certain  festivals. 
But  human  ingenuity  in  the  art  of  cooking  has  in 
vented  very  appetizing  dishes  especially  with  sea- 


126  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

food,  so  that  the  Lent  diet  is  sometimes  most  attrac 
tive  and  tempting. 

Julian  Calendar  observed.— The  Greek  Church 
officially  follows  the  Julian  Calendar  which  is  13 
days  behind  the  Gregorian  Calendar.  Thus  Christ 
mas  is  on  the  25th  of  December,  but  13  days  later 
than  the  American  Christmas,  i.  e.,  January  7th. 
New  Year's  day  is  January  1st,  i.  e.,  January  14th. 
But  the  people  use  in  business  and  all  other  transac 
tions  the  Gregorian  Calendar.  Many  observe  even 
Christmas  as  a  social  occasion  with  the  rest  of  the 
country,  thus  having  a  double  Christmas.  The  same 
is  truo  to  some  extent  with  New  Year  and  Easter. 

Pious  Orthodox  Greeks  partake  of  communion 
four  times  a  year,  during  the  four  fast  seasons. 
Confession  precedes  the  communion.  But  many 
commune  only  once  a  year,  usually,  during  Lent. 
Only  a  minority  of  the  Greeks  in  America  go  to  con 
fession  and  communion. 

A  number  of  liberal  and  evangelically  inclined 
priests  emphasized  the  utility  and  effectiveness  of 
the  confession.  One  said  he  utilizes  it  as  an  oppor 
tunity  to  instruct,  guide,  admonish  and  exhort  the 
people  in  the  paths  of  truth  and  righteousness. 

Many  Greeks  partake  of  communion  on  their  death 
bed.  This  is  partly  due  i:o  the  belief  that  they  would 
in  this  way  be  cleansed  of  all  their  sins  and  thus  en 
ter  "  Paradise, "  and  partly  to  the  wish  that  the 
pious  act  might  help  the  healing  and  the  recovery  of 
the  patient.  Greek  priests  often  go  long  distances 
to  render  this  last  service  to  the  dying. 

Posture  at  prayer. — There  are  only  a  limited  num 
ber  of  seats  in  the  Greek  churches,  but  even  these  can 
be  used  only  during  the  singing  of  certain  hymns. 
Almost  all  stand  during  the  entire  service.  Kneel 
ing  is  resorted  to  only  once  a  year,  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost.  But  in  America  seats  are  being  provided 
at  some  churches.  Some  communities  have  bought 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  127 

Protestant  churches,  with  seats  and  galleries  and 
they  are  kept  intact,  as  they  are  found  very  conven 
ient. 

In  Greece  and  Turkey  men  and  women  use  sepa 
rate  sections  of  the  church  during  the  services.  In 
America  they  are  getting  somewhat  mixed  and  stand 
together  in  some  churches.  Unfortunately  the 
Greeks  do  not  have  the  Protestant  custom  of  family 
seats  at  the  church  where  parents  and  children  at 
tend  services  together.  Boys  may  be  with  the  father, 
and  girls  with  the  mother. 

As  to  the  influence  of  the  Greek  churches  here,  a 
few  of  the  answers  to  the  questionnaire  from  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  country  follow: 

"The  influence  is  very  small,  excepting  in  family 
circles ;"  "Beneficial  and  uplifting;"  "The  best;" 
"Little;"  "In  religious  matters  the  Greek  adheres 
to  his  church;"  "Not  very  strong;"  "The  church  is 
keeping  the  Greeks  in  their  Christian  religion;" 
"Bather  small,  because  of  the  general  lack  of  spirit 
uality,  and  the  Greeks  are  not  interested  in  reli 
gion.  ' ' 

From  the  above  and  other  answers  it  becomes  evi 
dent  that  the  Greeks  adhere  to  their  church  in  spite 
of  their  indifference,  or  non-attendance  on  its  serv 
ices.  The  main  difficulty,  however,  is  the  lack  of 
spiritual  power.  Eeligion  is  usually  limited  to  the 
perfunctory  performance  of  ritual  or  is  confined  to 
certain  seasons. 

Need  of  spiritual  power. — The  greatest  need  is 
spiritual  vitality  to  translate  the  vital  principles  into 
daily  life.  Of  course,  this  is  the  need  of  all  Chris 
tendom.  Judged  by  the  strict  standards  of  Gospel 
principles,  most  of  them  >are  but  poor  Christians, 
as  one  of  the  leading  Orthodox  Greeks  in  high  posi 
tion  said,  "in  the  sense  of  Apostolic  Christianity, 
we  are  superstitious,  narrow-minded,  opposed  to  all 
progress,  and  change." 


128  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Need  of  Pastoral  visitation. — Pastoral  visitation 
is  one  of  the  greatest  needs  among  the  Greeks. 
Many  are  "like  flocks  without  a  shepherd."  Nomi 
nally  all  Greeks  are  Christians.  Large  numbers  of 
young  men  in  the  stores,  restaurants,  factories  and 
other  places  are  sorely  neglected.  There  is  scarcely 
any  one  looking  after  their  spiritual  welfare.  Many 
priests  are  either  unable  to  do  it,  or  are  too  busy 
with  their  levitical  functions. 

Forms  of  religious  break-up. — Apparently  there 
is  no  irreligious  movement  among  the  Greeks,  no 
open  atheists,  nor  free  thinkers.  Theoretically  most 
of  them,  if  not  all,  respect  religion.  As  all  Ameri 
cans,  good  or  bad,  are  citizens,  so  all  Greek  believers 
or  unbelievers,  warm  or  indifferent,  church-goers  or 
not,  are  reckoned,  and  they  regard  themselves  as 
members  of  the  Greek  church,  excepting  the  Protest 
ants  and  Eoman  Catholics,  whose  Hellenism  or  patrio 
tism  is  questioned  by  the  zealots,  although  facts  have 
shown  repeatedly  and  conclusively  that  patriotism 
is  not  the  monopoly  of  the  Orthodox.  Americans 
will  state  what  they  profess,  believe  or  disbelieve; 
will  say  they  are  not  Christians,  do  not  profess  to 
belong  to  any  church,  but  Greek  materialists  or  ag 
nostics  may  ridicule  all  religion  and  still  defend  the 
practice  and  usages  of  their  church  as  a  national 
institution.  This  peculiar  combination  of  religion 
and  patriotism  pervades  and  influences  the  whole 
Greek  life. 

Practical  unbelief. — There  are,  however,  many 
practical  unbelievers,  who  live  as  if  there  were  no 
God,  the  whole  of  whose  religion  consists  in  an  occa 
sional  outward  conformity  to  some  religious  cere 
mony  or  a  visit  to  the  church  at  Easter. 

As  in  Greece,  here  in  America,  too,  the  educated 
classes,  especially  students,  are  occupied  with  philo 
sophical  and  metaphysical  problems.  They  have 
their  doubts,  difficulties,  tendencies  to  materialism 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  129 

or  agnosticism,  but  almost  all  cling  to  the  church, 
and  if  questioned,  they  will  profess  to  belong  to  the 
Greek  church. 

This  may  be  due  partly  to  patriotic  feeling,  as  al 
ready  mentioned,  and  partly  to  moral  cowardice  or 
hypocrisy.  It  is  also  due  to  superficiality  of  thought 
and  a  lack  of  real  conviction.  In  discussing  the  sub 
ject  with  a  prominent  college  graduate,  a  Greek  of 
intellectual  power  and  moral  principles  he  expressed 
his  regret  that  there  was  not  more  free  thought 
among  the  Greeks.  i  l  There  is  too  much  stagnation, ' ' 
he  stated,  "and  indifference  to  truth;  besides,  our 
people  are  very  intolerant  and  opposed  to  all  change 
and  progress.  They  are  under  the  spell  of  the  past 
and  strongly  devoted  to  medieval  ideas  and  forms. " 
This  good  gentleman,  however,  used  "free  thought" 
in  its  good  sense,  as  a  spirit  of  inquiry  and  open- 
mindedness  which  is  the  motive  power  to  all  prog 
ress. 

Difficulties  of  liberal  leaders. — This  spirit  of  in 
tolerance  or  opposition  to  change  is  well  illustrated 
in  the  case  of  the  leaders,  evangelically  inclined  and 
who  preach  spiritual  and  pure  Gospel  principles. 
Such  are  often  attacked  and  criticized  by  the  con 
servatives  as  leaning  to  Protestantism  and  are  sus 
pected  of  heresy.  Hence  some  among  them  feel 
obliged  to  take  up  in  their  sermons  topics  of  decid 
edly  Greek  Orthodox  type,  e.  g.,  icons,  saints,  fasts, 
effectiveness  of  the  ritual,  and  they  may  even  attack 
Protestants  and  criticize  their  teaching  and  prac 
tices  as  a  means  of  self-defence  and  thus  secure  their 
own  safety  and  liberty  to  continue  in  their  work  of 
preaching.  There  is  needed  moral  heroism ;  men  of 
the  type  of  Luther,  who  can  proclaim  their  convic 
tions  and  are  not  afraid  to  face  the  consequences. 

2.  Forms  of  religious  realignment. — There  is 
scarcely  any  extra-church  religious  movement 
among  the  Greeks. 


130  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

There  are  Greek  Protestant  immigrants  in  vari 
ous  parts  of  the  United  States  who  have  joined  some 
one  of  the  Protestant  denominations  or  attend  serv 
ices  of  the  Congregational,  Presbyterian,  Methodist, 
Baptist,  Disciple,  Episcopal  or  some  other  church. 
In  addition  to  the  English  service  in  some  American 
church,  some  attend  and  help  the  Greek  Protestant 
churches  in  case  there  is  one  in  the  place  of  their 
residence. 

Worldly  Protestants. — Those  Protestant  Greeks 
who  fail  to  join  a  church,  American  or  Greek,,  or  who 
keep  aloof  from  church  influence  grow  cold  and  in 
different,  or  even  irreligious.  A  Greek  Protestant 
pastor  of  wide  experiences  among  the  Greeks  both 
Protestant  and  Orthodox,  said,  ' '  The  indifferent  Pro 
testants  get  worse  than  the  indifferent  Orthodox. 
The  latter  retain  at  least  certain  forms  as  an  icon  or 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  keep  up  an  appearance  of 
religion  in  spite  of  coldness  to  the  church ;  the  Pro 
testants  when  far  from  church  influences,  lose  all 
form  and  appearance  and  grow  colder  and  more  in 
different." 

Value  of  the  ritual. — Eitualism,  it  would  seem, 
then  has  a  legitimate  place  in  the  religious  life  of 
the  individual  and  institutions,  and  observances  have 
a  retentive  influence.  Once  learned,  they  cannot 
easily  be  forgotten  or  given  up.  Through  centuries 
of  ignorance  and  oppression  under  Turkish  tyranny, 
the  Oriental  Christians  have  clung  to  the  external 
forms  of  their  churches  and  kept  up  the  name  of 
Christianity,  with  little  preaching,  teaching  or  study 
of  the  Scripture.  Had  it  not  been  for  these  forms, 
the  very  name  of  Christianity  might  have  been  wiped 
out. 

Influences  of  the  Passover  and  the  ritual. — As  il 
lustrating  the  power  of  ceremonial  there  is  the  Pass 
over  in  Jewish  history.  It  is  said  it  was  the 
Passover,  more  than  anything  else,  that  kept  the 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  131 

Jews  together  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  exile, 
climate,  country,  language,  etc.,  as  a  distinct  and 
separate  race.  They  may  speak  different  languages, 
live  in  different  countries,  neglect  the  study  of  their 
Scriptures  and  attendance  of  synagogue,  but  almost 
all  observe  the  Passover.  Protestantism  as  preached 
to  the  Oriental  Christians  depreciated,  even  de 
nounced  ritual,  and  appealed  rather  to  the  intellect. 
Protestant  services  were  rather  a  series  of  lectures 
and  addresses  fitted  to  mature  minds.  Even  the  de 
votional  portions  of  the  service  were  regarded  as 
secondary.  The  immature  or  negligent,  deprived 
of  the  assistance  of  ritual,  fell  away  easily  from  the 
faith. 

Greeks  attending  Protestant  churches. — There 
are  a  great  many  Greeks  who  profess  to  belong  to 
the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  who  attend  pretty  regu 
larly  the  services  of  some  Protestant  denomination. 
One  wrote  me  from  Eaton  Eapids  that  there  is  no 
Greek  church  there,  and  he  attends  a  Methodist 
church.  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  prominent 
leaders  who  avails  himself  of  every  opportunity  to 
attack  Protestants,  especially  missionaries,  told  me 
he  did  not  attend  any  Greek  church,  but  usually  went 
to  some  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  "  because  "  he 
said  "the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  does  not  at 
tempt  to  proselytize  the  Greeks."  One  family  at 
tends  regularly  a  Methodist  Church  in  New  York. 
The  wife  had  gone  by  chance  or  curiosity  and  was 
so  impressed  with  the  simplicity  and  spirituality  of 
the  service  that  she  is  attending  regularly  and  her 
children  attend  the  Sunday  school.  There  are 
many  more  Greeks  attending  Protestant  Episcopal 
Churches  and  a  great  many  send  their  children  to 
their  Sunday  schools. 

It  is  impossible  to  learn  the  number  of  those  who 
attend  Protestant  Churches. 

There  are  many  within  the  fold  of  the  Greek 


132  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

church  who  are  dissatisfied  with  the  actual  condi 
tions  in  the  church,  who  are  not  indifferent  to  re 
ligion,  though  they  seldom  attend  any  services,  but 
hope  there  will  some  day  be  a  change  and  their 
church  will  become  up-to-date  and  a  greater  spiritual 
power  and  center  of  attraction  to  all. 

Moral  courage. — But  they  hesitate  to  take  a  de 
cided  stand  because  they  fear  the  charge  of  unpa- 
triotism,  owing  to  the  close  connection  of  the  church 
and  nationality  in  the  past.  They  lack  the  moral 
courage  to  stand  for  their  convictions  and  face  the 
consequences.  They  suspect  and  fear  each  other. 
They  hesitate  to  speak  in  the  presence  of  others, 
but  express  themselves  freely  when  alone.  This  is 
true  both  of  the  clergy  arid  the  laity. 

Illustrations. — One  liberal  priest  said  to  a  col 
league,  "It  is  high  time  that  we  all  speak  out  and 
not  hide  our  light. ' '  One  bright  young  college  grad 
uate,  speaking  in  the  presence  of  other  Greek  young 
men,  praised  the  Greek  Church  and,  "our  Orthodox 
Beligion,"  attacked  and  condemned  the  missionaries 
as  proselytizers.  But  later  when  alone  said  he  was 
for  the  evangelical  truth  and  attended  Protestant 
services  more  than  Greek. 

Other  young  men,  when  together,  speak  as  loyal 
sons  of  the  Greek  Church,  but  wnen  alone,  profess 
their  real  conviction  as  Protestants.  These  are  typi 
cal  of  countless  other  instances. 

Eeforms  are  needed  and  reforms  require  reform 
ers  with  the  ardor  and  daring  of  John  Chrysostom, 
Ambrose  of  Milan,  Luther  and  other  reformers,  who 
dared  to  speak  the  truth  even  though  they  incurred 
the  wrath  of  an  emperor  or  an  empress,  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  go  to  exile,  imprisonment  and  death. 

FOKMS   OF   EELIGIOUS   APPKOACH 

There  is  little  effective  work  being  done  by  the 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  133 

Protestant  churches  exclusively  among  the  Greeks. 
The  need  is  extremely  great,  and  the  field  scarcely 
touched.  There  is  no  social  settlement,  institu 
tional  church  or  evangelism  exclusively  for  the 
Greeks.  They  get  the  benefit  of  the  general  services 
in  English  in  factories,  open-air  meetings,  and  other 
methods  of  evangelism.  Settlements  such  as  Hull 
House,  Chicago,  are  coming  into  touch  with  Greeks 
as  well  as  other  races.  The  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  welcomes  the  Greeks  to  the  facilities,  privi 
leges  and  social  advantages  of  their  church  houses, 
as  well  as  to  its  church  services.  Doubtless  other 
churches  would  give  the  same  welcome.  But  the 
Greek  responds  more  readily  to  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  call. 

EVANGELICAL   WORK   AMONG   THE   GEEEKS  BY 
PKOTESTANT    CHUECHES 

The  Congregational  churches  first  took  a  special 
interest  in  the  Greeks  in  America  and  started  mis 
sionary  work  among  them.  The  missions  in  the 
Near  East,  and  so  the  Greek  field,  is  under  the 
American  Board,  consequently  Greek  Protestant 
immigrants  usually  affiliate  with  the  Congregational 
churches.  The  Massachusetts  Home  Missionary  So 
ciety  of  the  Congregational  churches  has  had  for 
years  Greek  evangelical  work  in  Boston,  Lowell,  and 
Haverhill,  Mass. 

In  general  the  other  Protestant  denominations 
assume  that  the  Greek  field  belongs  to  the  Congre- 
gationalists,  and  they  in  turn  confess  they  are  not  in 
a  position  to  carry  the  work  alone  without  the  help 
of  other  denominations. 

The  Protestant  Episcopalians  are  against  any 
Protestant  work  among  the  Greeks.  They  are  very 
friendly  and  ever  ready  to  help  the  Greeks  to  help 
themselves.  They  loan  them  churches,  chapels  and 


134  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

halls,  and  bishops,  clergymen  and  laymen  are  sym 
pathetic  and  helpful. 

The  Methodists  have  missions  in  Lowell,  Mass., 
where  Sunday  and  week  day  services  are  carried  on. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  comes  into  touch  with 
the  Greeks  through  their  educational  work  in  Syria 
and  evangelical  work  in  Greece  was  for  a  while 
under  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Board. 

Botn  Presbyterians  and  Baptists  conducted  work 
for  Greeks  in  New  York  City  for  a  time  but  no 
lasting  results  were  achieved.  Work  was  discon 
tinued  by  Baptists  because  the  City  Missions  Council 
of  New,  York  advised  that  in  the  interest  of  comity 
evangelical  work  for  Greeks  be  left  to  the  Congrega- 
tionalists. 

The  main  Greek  evangelical  churches  in  the 
United  States  are  in  Lowell,  Mass. ;  Boston,  Mass. ; 
and  Chicago,  111. 

The  work  in  Boston  and  Lowell  was  started  by 
Eev.  and  Mrs.  S.  Vaitsis.  Both  worked  with  great 
devotion  for  years,  helping  the  poor  and  the  sick, 
conducting  English  classes,  acting  as  Employment 
Bureau,  and  advising  the  immigrants  in  many  ways, 
and  preaching  and  teaching  the  Gospel  on  Sunday 
and  weekdays. 

There  was  great  opposition,  but  in  spite  of  all 
fanaticism  and  bitterness  on  the  part  of  some,  prom 
inent  Orthodox  Greeks  testify  that  they  worked  as 
good  Samaritans  and  did  much  good  in  many  ways. 
"If  you  want  to  see  a  good  pastor  and  a  true  shep 
herd  of  his  people  go  to  that  Protestant,  Mr. 
Vaitsis,"  said  several  Greeks.  He  has  the  largest 
Greek  printing  press  in  New  England.  He  edits  a 
religious  monthly,  Aletheia  (Truth),  and  a  news 
paper,  Angeliaforos  (Messenger).  After  working 
for  years  at  both  Lowell  and  Boston,  Mr.  Vaitsis 
left  Boston,  in  1914,  confining  himself  to  Lowell 
where  he  works  independently. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  135 

C.  Tokas. — Kev.  C.  Tokas  is  in  charge  of  the  work 
in  Boston,  under  the  Massachusetts  Home  Mission 
ary  Society.  The  services  are  conducted  at  the 
chapel  of  the  Park  Place  Congregational  Church. 
Mr.  Tokas  gives  prominence  to  social  activities  and 
makes  the  church  a  social  center  where  the  Ortho 
dox  and  Protestants  may  meet  for  social  occasions 
under  true  Christian  influence  at  all  times.  He 
studied  at  the  University  of  Athens  and  the  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary.  He  was  in  charge  of  the 
Greek  Evangelical  Church,  Athens,  Greece,  for 
years,  before  coming  to  Boston. 

C.  T.  Papadopoulos. — The  work  in  Chicago  was 
started  by  Rev.  C.  T.  Papadopoulos,  a  graduate  of 
Anatolia  College  and  the  Theological  Seminary, 
Marsovan,  Asia.  Minor,  and  pastor  of  several  Greek 
Evangelical  Churches  in  Asia  Minor,  before  coming 
to  Chicago. 

He  had  great  opposition  at  first,  but  finally  things 
quieted  down.  He  conducted  Sunday  and  weekday 
services  and  Sunday  school.  His  home  was  a  social 
center  where  many  met  for  song  services  on  Sun 
day  evenings.  He  edited  the  monthy  Elpis  (Hope). 
He  printed  several  tracts.  He  worked  indepen 
dently.  The  Chicago  Tract  Society  was  of  much 
assistance  to  his  work.  He  died  in  1921.  The  church 
is  looking  for  a  successor. 

Haverhill,  Mass.,  Canton,  Ohio. — There  was  work 
for  a  time  at  Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  Canton,  Ohio, 
but  for  lack  of  support  and  workers,  was  discontin 
ued.  There  are  many  Protestant  young  men  from 
the  Black  Sea  region  in  Canton  and  Akron,  Ohio, 
and  elsewhere  in  Ohio  and  other  States.  They  all 
need  the  counseling  and  guiding  power  of  the  Gos 
pel,  and  there  ought  to  be  found  some  way  to  pro 
vide  them  with  it. 

The  Russellites. — Groups  of  young  men  meet  at 
different  centers  at  New  York  and  elsewhere  to 


136  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

study  the  Scripture  with  Eussellite  interpretation. 
They  call  themselves  "Students  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures."  They  publish  various  tracts,  leaflets 
and  other  literature  translated  from  English  to 
Greek.  Certain  groups  issue  multigraphed  weekly 
leaflets.  Among  them  are  many  workers  at  shoe- 
shine  parlors,  lunch  rooms,  etc. 

LITEEATUEE 

Religious  literature  in  Greek. — i\o  secular  or  re 
ligious  newspapers  or  periodicals  are  being  issued 
by  any  American  church  in  Greek  or  for  the  Greeks. 
The  existing  Greek  papers,  Atlantis  and  the  Na 
tional  Herald  of  New  York,  often  contain  religious 
articles,  especially  on  Sunday  and  special  occasions. 
During  Lent,  the  Holy  "Week  passages  of  the  Gos 
pel,  read  in  the  churches,  are  printed  and  explained. 

I  have  already  mentioned  Aletheia  (Truth)  and 
Angeliaforos  (Messenger),  edited  by  Eev.  S.  Vait- 
sis,  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  Elpis  (Hope),  edited  by  Eev. 
C.  T.  Papadopoulos,  Chicago,  111.  All  have  a  limited 
circulation,  mainly  among  the  Protestant  Greeks, 
though  a  good  many  Orthodox  also  get  them.  They 
are  handicapped  in  their  work  by  opposition  of  the 
Greek  press. 

There  is  a  religious  monthly,  Religious  Echo,  until 
recently  edited  by  Eev.  H.  Panagopoulos,  Milwau 
kee,  Wis.  It  dealt  with  Greek  dogmatics,  and  con 
troversial  matters  and  had  a  limited  circulation. 
The  editor  having  left  for  Greece,  Eev.  C.  H.  Dem- 
etry  of  Chicago,  111.,  is  the  new  editor.  He  is  of  a 
liberal  and  enlightened  mind. 

Other  periodicals. — Eeligious  periodicals  pub 
lished  in  Greece  or  Constantinople  come  to  America, 
but  are  taken  only  by  a  very  few.  Other  publica 
tions  are  National  Renaissance  (Illustrated  Month 
ly),  Eev.  D.  Callimahos,  editor,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  187 

and  Archbishop  Meletios'  Ecclesiastical  Keryx,  of 
New  York,  edited  and  published  by  St.  Athanasias' 
Theological  Seminary. 

Others  are:  Ecclesiastiki  Alitheia  (Ecclesiastical 
Truth),  organ  of  the  Ecumenical  Patriarchate, 
Phanar,  Constantinople;  Saint  Polycarpos,  edited 
by  Et.  Eev.  Chrysostomos,  Metropolitan  of  Smyrna, 
and  some  others. 

Religious  in  secular  press. — The  National  Her 
ald  and  Atlantis,  besides  keeping  in  stock  various 
religious  books  published  in  Greece  or  Constantino 
ple,  have  published  several  volumes  on  religious  top 
ics,  mostly  in  the  form  of  prayer  books,  but  there  is 
nothing  similar  to  the  edifying,  stimulating,  spirit 
ual,  evangelical  literature  of  America. 

Atlantis  has  a  new  edition  of  the  New  Testament, 
as  published  by  the  Greek  Patriarchate,  Constan 
tinople. 

Eeligious  and  other  books  are  on  sale  at  other 
Greek  book  stores  in  all  the  principal  Greek  cen 
ters  in  United  States. 

The  American  Bible  Society  and  the  New  York 
Bible  Society,  provide  the  Scriptures  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  in  modern  Greek;  in  whole  or  parts. 
They  have  also  the  New  Testament  in  the  original 
and  the  Septuagint.  The  Greek  Protestant  pastors 
and  various  other  religious  workers  help  circulate 
these  Scriptures. 

Tracts. — The  Chicago  and  the  New  York  Tract 
Societies  have  published  a  number  of  tracts  in  mod 
ern  Greek.  Many  more  were  published  by  the 
Greek  Evangelical  Church  at  Athens,  Greece,  while 
Dr.  N.  D.  Kalopothakes  was  living.  Among  them 
are  two  of  the  type  of  catechism,  "Milk  for  the 
Children"  and  "Bread  ^for  the  Children,"  both 
translated  from  the  English. 

A  catechism  and  many  leaflets  have  been  pub 
lished  by  Dr.  X.  Moschou  of  Smyrna. 


138  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

"Helping  Hand"  series. — Under  the  patronage  of 
Queen  Olga  of  Greece,  while  King  George  lived, 
there  was  published  a  series  of  leaflets  under  the 
heading  ' '  Helping  Hand. ' '  Some  of  them  were  orig 
inal,  but  many  were  mostly  translations  from  the 
English,  adapted  to  Greek  needs.  They  would  prove 
useful  anywhere.  I  had  circulated  many  copies 
while  in  Turkey,  and  they  were  welcome  everywhere 
as  coming  from  Greek  Orthodox  sources.  Among 
them  was  Drummond's  "The  Greatest  Thing  in  the 
World." 

The  missionaries  in  Constantinople  had  published 
a  great  many  leaflets  and  books  in  Greek  and  in 
Greco-Turkish,  i.e.,  Turkish  written  with  Greek 
characters.  Copies  of  all  these  publications  have 
found  their  way  to  America. 

New  literature  needed. — Doubtless  there  can  be 
made  a  selection  from  the  leaflets  and  tracts  already 

Eublished,  that  would  be  interesting,  useful  and  help 
ed  to  the  present  generation.  But  most  of  them  are 
adapted  to  another  generation.  At  any  rate  not  to 
this.  There  is  great  need  of  fresh  material  dealing 
with  living  questions  and  problems  of  the  day,  the 
eternal  principles  and  truths  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God. 

Stories  might  be  used  very  appropriately  to  best 
advantage.  People  are  addicted  to  fiction  and  plays. 
This  style  of  writing  might  well  be  utilized.  Sugges 
tive,  catching  writing  in  attractive  style  would  be 
very  useful. 

Besides  the  material,  the  style  of  most  of  the 
tracts  already  published  is  against  their  usefulness. 


Chapter  V 
THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  (Continued) 

SPECIAL,   PROBLEMS 

(a)  Leadership  of  Greek  Churches 

American  trained  leaders  needed. — Most  of  the 
Greek  priests  and  other  church  leaders  are  trained 
and  educated  in  Greece  or  Turkey.  Greeks  need 
church  leaders  trained  in  American  ways,  ideas  and 
colleges  and  theological  seminaries.  Such  men 
would  be  of  immense  value  in  reviving  the  Greek 
church  and  the  nation.  There  are  one  or  two  of  the 
higher  clergy  in  the  Near  East  who  were  trained  in 
England;  they  are  now  among  the  foremost  leaders 
with  great  power  and  influence  in  the  life  of  the 
church  and  nation. 

American  trained  men  would  be  of  great  influ 
ence  both  in  the  United  States  and  the  Near  East, 
as  some  may  go  back  to  the  old  country  and  may 
occupy  prominent  positions  in  training  the  candi 
dates  for  the  clergy  as  well  as  in  the  general  work 
of  the  church. 

Before  the  war,  leading  Greek  theologians  went 
to  Germany  for  advanced  studies.  The  tendency  is 
at  present  to  English-speaking  institutions.  Amer 
ica  may  draw  a  great  many  more  in  the  future. 

Greek-American  theological  schools. — A  number 
of  young  men  are  taking  courses  in  American  the 
ological  seminaries.  Some  are  Protestants  and  are 
looking  forward  to  join  the  Protestant  ministry 
either  in  America  or  Greece.  They  may  work  in 
American  churches,  as  some  are  doing  already. 

139 


140  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Others  profess  to  belong  to  the  Greek  church  and 
are  planning  to  work  in  their  church.  More  than 
anything  else,  well-trained  men  will  hasten  the  re 
vival  and  reform  in  this  old  historic  church  and 
make  it  a  power  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  both  in 
America  and  elsewhere. 

Armenian  Bishop  of  Smyrna. — An  Armenian,  the 
son  of  a  Protestant  pastor  in  Turkey,  who  studied 
in  prominent  theological  schools  in  the  United 
States,  conceived  the  idea  of  serving  Christ  in  the 
old  historic  Armenian  (Gregorian)  Church.  He 
joined  that  body,  was  ordained  a  priest  and  was  for 
a  time  Assistant  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  preaching  to 
vast  congregations  with  much  power  and  influence. 
He  says  that  he  is  preaching  in  the  Armenian 
church,  the  same  Gospel  messages  that  he  used  to 
give  the  Americans  while  he  studied  in  the  seminary. 
There  are  opportunities  in  the  Greek  church  for  such 
men  and  messages. 

Liberal  priests.— Some  of  the  priests  in  the  United 
States  in  touch  with  Americans  improve  their  op 
portunities  by  attending  classes  in  the  Theological 
Seminaries,  church  services,  club  meetings  or  lec 
tures.  Such  are  very  progressive  and  are  leading 
their  people  to  progressiveness.  They  also  serve  as 
links  qf  connection  and  friendship  between  the 
Greek  and  Protestant  Churches. 

American  workers  among  the  Greeks. — Ameri 
cans,  trained  in  the  Greek  language,  acquainted  with 
Greek  history,  ideas  and  customs,  life  and  ideals, 
would  be  of  great  service  and  a  great  blessing  to  the 
Greek  people.  No  outsider  can  work  among  a  peo 
ple  while  keeping  aloof  from  them  as  foreigners,  or 
occasionally  condescending  to  keep  company  with 
them.  That  was  not  Christ's  method.  The  success 
ful  worker  has  to  identify  himself  with  the  people 
among  whom  he  works.  He  should  be  as  one  of 
them.  He  has  to  follow  Christ's  example  in  draw- 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  141 

ing  men  unto  himself.  Illustrations  are  numerous. 
The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  men  in  Greece  and  in  the  Greek 
work  in  the  United  States  are  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  by  all.  American  educators  in  American 
schools  in  the  Near  East  who  approach  the  Greeks 
sympathetically  are  loved  and  admired  by  their 
Greek  students  and  their  friends  and  relatives. 
The  earlier  missionaries  of  the  American  Board 
in  the  Near  East  acquired  Greek,  Turkish,  Arabic, 
or  Armenian  as  the  locality  required.  Later  most 
of  them  learned  Turkish  because  it  was  understood 
to  some  extent  by  all,  and  also  because  they  desired 
to  cultivate  work  among  the  Turks.  Now  in  spite 
of  success  in  educational  work  through  the  English 
language  and  through  the  Turkish  in  other  lines, 
the  lack  of  Greek  is  a  distinct  handicap,  for  the 
Turkish  is  a  foreign  language  to  the  Greeks,  espe 
cially  the  women.  The  missionary  needs  the  Greek 
to  get  access  to  their  books,  newspapers,  songs,  and 
national  and  ecclesiastical  ideas.  The  American 
Board  has  inaugurated  a  school  of  languages  in 
Constantinople  where  missionaries  may  learn  the 
languages  of  the  Near  East.  Missionaries  should 
keep  entirely  neutral  amid  the  conflicting  political 
and  ecclesiastical  controversies  of  that  great  region, 
preaching  the  Gospel  of  love  and  goodwill,  and 
pointing  all  to  the  same  Heavenly  Father.  The 
churches  ought  to  use  the  same  method.  Promi 
nent  preachers  and  evangelists  could  do  splendid 
work  in  certain  Greek  communities,  even  through 
interpreters.  Dr.  Theodore  Ion  writes:  "The  Greek 
intellectuals,  both  clergy  and  laymen,  are  anxiously 
awaiting  the  opportune  moment  to  reform  the  ex 
ternal  forms  of  the  Orthodox  religion  and  to  con 
form  to  the  present  needs  of  society.  The  Greek 
clergy  has  already  made  great  progress  and  the 
tendency  everywhere  seems  to  be  to  have,  as  priests, 
graduates  of  theological  schools.  In  the  course 


142  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

of  time  the  high  clergy  will  also  be,  I  suppose,  al 
lowed  to  marry,  which  would  be  an  inducement  to 
many  educated  persons  to  become  priests.  Many 
of  the  high  clergy  study  theology  either  at  Athens 
or  in  Constantinople. 

It  will  be  an  excellent  plan  to  encourage  Greek 
students  of  theology  to  get  their  training  in  the  the 
ological  seminaries  in  the  United  States. 

I  think  that  if  many  Greeks  would  study  theology 
in  the  United  States  and  in  England  the  union  be 
tween  the  Greek  church  and  the  various  Protestant 
churches  will  be  probable. ' ' 

(b)  Foreign  Language  Training  Schools 

Training  schools. — There  are  no  training  schools 
for  the  Greeks.  The  Protestant  leaders  get  their 
training  in  the  American  schools.  Separate  short 
cut  courses  or  schools  for  foreigners  should  not  be 
encouraged.  The  foreign-born  worker  should  re 
ceive  the  same  training,  and  pass  the  same  tests  as 
the  American  born. 

Plan  for  a  Greek  Theological  Seminary. — Arch 
bishop  Meletios  Metaxakis  of  Athens,  among  others, 
spoke  of  a  plan,  while  visiting  the  United  States  in 
1918,  to  establish  a  theological  seminary  in  Amer 
ica  which  might  be  the  highest  institution  of  theo 
logical  training  for  the  Greeks.  In  November,  1921, 
the  school  was  inaugurated  by  Archbishop  Meletios 
in  the  auditorium  of  the  23rd  Street  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
with  six  students.  Eecitations  take  place  at  the  Cen 
tral  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Brooklyn.  A  building  will  shortly 
be  provided.  Greeks  of  Chicago  and  elsewhere  are 
contributing  generously.  Venizelos  and  his  wife 
gave  the  first  $1,000.  The  editor  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
Herald,  M.  Galanos,  is  one  of  the  instructors.  Prom 
inent  clergymen  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  are  on 
the  teaching  staff. 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  143 

Need  of  American  teachers  in  Greek  schools. — The 

English  language  is  taught  in  the  Theological  School 
at  Halki,  one  of  the  islands  of  Marmora,  the  highest 
theological  school  of  the  patriarchate,  Constantino 
ple.  A  prominent  American  professor  in  that  insti 
tution  would  do  a  great  deal  in  bringing  Greeks  and 
Americans  into  closer  relationship  in  church  work 
and  would  render  a  great  service  in  the  training  of 
the  Greek  clergy.  American  professors  in  the  Uni 
versity  of  Athens  would  be  a  great  blessing.  Ex 
change  professorships  between  that  university  and 
American  institutions  could  be  arranged  with  much 
benefit  to  all  concerned. 

(c)  The  Future  of  the  Greek  Church  in  America 

Greeks  will  stay. — The  Greeks  will  stay  in 
America.  Even  though  many  should  return  to 
Greece,  others  will  come  to  take  their  place. 

Greek  Orthodox  Church  in  America. — There  are 
immense  possibilities  and  a  great  deal  of  energy  and 
resources  in  the  Greek  churches  when  properly  or 
ganized  and  utilized.  In  the  course  of  time  it  will 
be  an  autonomous,  independent,  and  in  ecclesiastical 
usage  ' i  autocephalous ' '  church  like  the  churches  of 
Greece,  Rumania,  Serbia,  etc.,  acknowledged  by  the 
Ecumenical  and  other  patriarchates.  It  will  be  the 
Greek  Orthodox  Church  of  America. 

All  services  in  Greek. — All  the  services  are  at 
present,  in  Byzantine  or  ancient  Greek,  which  is 
not  really  or  thoroughly  understood  by  the  people. 
A  modern  up-to-date  church  must  use  the  language 
spoken  and  understood  by  the  worshipers.  The 
church  in  Greece  will  doubtless  adopt,  in  time,  the 
modern  Greek  in  its  services  and  hymns.  The 
church  will  not  have  its  prayerbook  and  hymnbook 
forever  closed,  and  handed  down  unchanged  from 
generation  to  generation.  New  poets  will  rise,  new 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

songs  will  be  produced  and  additions  and  omissions 
made,  as  is  done  in  other  churches. 

English  a  unifying  force. — But  the  Greek  church 
in  America  may  ultimately  adopt  the  English  lan 
guage  for  its  services  as  the  coming  generation  will 
have  the  English  as  their  mother  tongue  and  except 
ing  the  newcomers  will  not  understand  the  Greek. 
Then  people  of  other  races  and  of  Orthodox  faith, 
the  Syrians,  Rumanians,  Serbians,  Albanians,  etc., 
may  cooperate  with  the  Greeks.  In  fact  they  might 
all  unite  as  one  and  the  same  denomination.  Other 
Americans  might  join  it  as  one  of  the  prominent  de 
nominations  of  the  country.  There  are  already  cases 
of  American  women  marrying  Greek  husbands  and 
thus  joining  the  Greek  church. 

There  is  already  a  precedent  in  the  Russian  Ortho 
dox  Church  which  inaugurated  services  in  English 
in  the  chapel  of  St.  Vladimir's  Home,  233  East  17th 
Street,  New  York.  The  Liturgy  of  St.  Chrysostom 
was  said  there  in  the  English  language.  The  church 
was  open  to  all  Americans. 

The  .English  language  will  open  to  them  all  the 
treasures  of  English  literature,  and  make  them  ac 
quainted  with  American  thought.  This,  however, 
cannot  happen  during  the  present  generation,  which 
uses  Greek,  and  is  not  accustomed  to  English  asso 
ciation  of  ideas.  The  Greek  language  and  other 
usages  brought  from  Greece  are  too  sacred  to  them, 
and  cannot  be  changed  easily.  Changes  will  be  ef 
fected  more  readily  with  the  new  generation. 

Greek  Protestants. — Protestant  Greeks  are  more 
open  to  Americanization  and  assimilation.  In  fact 
those  who  attend  American  churches,  especially  the 
children  and  young  people  are  already  Americanized. 
The  few  congregations  in  existence  use  the  Greek 
language  for  sermon,  prayers  and  hymns,  but  Eng 
lish  hymns  and  anthems  are  being  introduced,  at 
least  by  the  Protestant  Armenians,  whose  work  is 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  14>5 

similar  to  the  Greek.  Children  go  to  American  Sun 
day  schools,  unless  there  is  a  separate  Greek  school. 
English  is  coming  in  slowly  but  surely.  Greek  may 
continue  to  be  used  for  the  sake  of  the  newcomers, 
but  for  the  rising  generation  English  will  be  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Greek  Protestant  churches.  They  will 
become  Americans. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  following  recommendations  came  from  vari 
ous  correspondents: 

The  chief  needs  of  Greek  immigrants  are  "sym 
pathy,  friendship  and  respect  from  native  born 
Americans.  Make  them  feel  that  America  is  their 
home. "  "  They  need  lectures,  entertainments,  books, 
and  close  friendship  with  better  class  Americans, 
preferably  on  the  non-sectarian  basis.  The  future  of 
the  Greeks  in  America  is  very  optimistic/' 

"There  are  needed  schools  for  adults  to  teach 
them  the  English  language  and  open  their  eyes  to 
the  higher  opportunities  this  country  offers.  There 
should  be  a  law  requiring  adults  to  learn  English. 
All  the  Greeks  in  the  United  States  should  form  local 
committees  and  through  these,  should  unite  into  a 
National  'Pankoinotic'  Union  ('of  all  the  com 
munities').  There  must  be  a  radical  reform  of  the 
church,  which  is  almost  dead  (the  writer  is  Greek 
Orthodox).  If  the  Greeks  can  be  made  to  work  in 
harmony  with  one  another  in  all  important  matters, 
they  will  be  ahead  of  the  other  foreign  elements  in 
the  United  States.  The  greatest  need  now  is  men. 
Where  are  they?" 

"Greeks  should  be  obliged  to  attend  school." 
"They  should  be  considered  as  the  best  lovers  of 
America  and  be  treated  accordingly. ' ' 

"The  chief  need  is  organization,  and  the  outlook 
for  the  future  is  hopeful. ' ' 

' '  Chief  need  is  education. ' ' 


146  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

"They  should  learn  the  English  language,  should 
absorb  American  ideas  and  recognize  that  Ameri 
cans  are  just  as  good,  if  not  better,  than  Greeks. " 

"The  chief  need  is  first  to  fight  gambling,  by  en 
forcing  a  jail  sentence  upon  any  proprietor  who 
owns  and  runs  a  gambling  house ;  secondly,  to  estab 
lish  reading  rooms  and  libraries  with  a  little  more 
freedom  of  association  in  order  to  attract  the  class 
that  rottens  in  the  coffee-houses."  "They  need 
'good  teaching.' 

"They  need  more  education  in  English,  more 
churches  and  schools.  The  future  is  very  bright. 
Within  the  last  ten  years,  they  improved  100  per 
cent." 

1 1  The  chief  need  is  education,  again  education  with 
kindness."  "Private  teaching  in  families  how  to 
live,  and  also  the  study  of  English  in  general." 
i  i  They  should  learn  their  religion  by  securing  good, 
honest  and  conscientious  priests." 

"The  chief  need — capable  leaders  and  priests  who 
shall  be  real  priests  of  our  Lord  and  not  money- 
grabbers,  and  who  know  the  conditions  in  America. 
We  need  teachers  who  are  capable  of  teaching  young 
children  of  Greek  parentage  to  become  good  citizens 
of  America  and  an  honor  to  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
Under  good  and  unselfish  leaders,  they  will  make  fine 
citizens.  If  we  could  overcome  our  self-importance 
or  egotism,  we  would  be  a  model  people." 

"As  to  the  subject  of  Americanization  and  the 
methods  employed,  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  commit 
myself,  but  I  would  be  glad  to  see  a  good  deal  more 
effort  made  to  help  educate  the  younger  generation 
under  such  supervision,  that  they  will  learn  the  Eng 
lish  language  as  their  vernacular,  and  be  interested 
in  American  history  and  Americanism,  so  that  they 
will  not  be  fanatical  Greeks,  but  well  developed  citi 
zens,  able  to  use  their  unbiased  judgment  for  social, 
political  and  religious  matters.  I  am  afraid  this  part 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  147 

of  the  work  is  not  receiving  as  much  attention  here 
in  Detroit  as  it  should. " 

I  may  sum  up  and  supplement  a  few  of  the  out 
standing  points  made  by  my  correspondents. 

1. — Emphasis  is  laid  everywhere  by  all  on  educa 
tion. 

(a)  The  most  important  of  all  is  the  education  of 
the  children.    They  are  the  hope  of  the  future.    But 
they  should  receive  the   same   education  that   the 
American  born  get.     Discrimination  is  harmful  in 
all  cases.    To  give  something  inferior  or  to  do  super 
ficial  work  in  schools  when  it  concerns  the  foreign 
born,  or  to  treat  as  inferiors  foreign  born  pupils  has 
a  damaging  effect.    Americans  of  this  type  are  the 
worst  enemies  of  Americanism.    Nothing  wins  so  ef 
fectively  as  genuine  sympathy  and  cordiality. 

(b)  The  adults  need  education.    Evening  schools 
should  be  continued,  enlarged,  and  made  more  gen 
eral.    More  Greek  societies  should  conduct  classes 
in  English  and  civics  for  their  members. 

One  of  my  correspondents  suggested  an  excellent 
point — i.  e.,  to  teach  families  or  individuals  at  home. 
Bible  women  inj:he  Near  East  used  to  do  excellent 
educational  work  by  visiting  homes  and  teaching  the 
illiterate  women  reading  and  writing.  Such  a 
method  would  produce  good  results.  One  denomina 
tional  board  in  New  York  supports  Christian  women 
teachers,  who  go  into  homes  where  English  is  not 
spoken  and  teach  English  and  interpret  Christianity. 

2. — Literature:  Greeks  need  helpful,  constructive 
literature.  Translations  from  English  as  well  as 
original  works  would  be  welcome. 

An  ethico-religious  periodical  would  be  of  great 
service.  It  may  be  weekly  or  monthly.  It  should 
have  real,  readable  matter.  Greeks  read,  think  and 
criticize.  It  should  be  catching,  attractive  and  sug 
gestive.  True  patriotism  should  occupy  its  proper 


148  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

place  on  its  pages.  Constructive  views  on  religion 
should  be  emphasized,  rather  than  controversy.  Be- 
ligious  mysticism  would  appeal  to  many  contempla 
tive  minds.  History,  fiction  and  poetry,  should  all 
be  utilized  in  enriching  this  much  needed  periodical. 

Some  asked  whether  it  would  not  be  a  good  plan 
to  carry  out  such  a  program  through  existing  Greek 
periodicals.  I  believe  the  editors  would  welcome 
contributions  of  the  type  suggested.  But  a  separate 
work  with  a  definite  ethico-religious  program  would 
meet  the  need  better.  It  need  not  compete  with  other 
publications,  as  it  will  be  something  different  from 
the  rest.  It  may  have  wide  circulation  in  Greece, 
and  other  lands  wherever  Greeks  are  scattered. 

It  should  be  undenominational,  setting  forth  the 
fundamentals  and  eternal  verities  of  the  moral  and 
spiritual  realm,  and  the  deepest  needs  of  the  human 
heart. 

Prominent  clergymen  and  laymen  from  all  the 
churches,  including  the  Greek  Orthodox,  should  be 
invited  to  write  for  it.  It  should  have  the  good  will 
of  the  Greek  church  authorities. 

3. — Sunday  schools:  Every  Greek  church  and 
community,  every  Greek  colony,  and  center,  should 
have  Sunday  schools.  There  should  be  classes  for 
children,  young  men  and  young  women,  and  also  for 
men  and  women. 

Eeligious  instruction  for  children,  and  young  peo 
ple  is  absolutely  necessary,  as  the  public  school  does 
not  provide  and  many  are  unable  or  have  not  the 
time  to  train  their  children  in  the  "fear  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord."  Many  do  not  attend 
church.  There  is  therefore  great  danger  of  the  ris 
ing  generation  being  brought  up  irreligiously.  Sun 
day  school  and  religious  day  schools  are  for  this 
evil. 

There  is  no  Sunday  school  material  available  for 
Greeks.  The  ordinary  Sunday  school  publication 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  149 

would  not  meet  the  Greek  need.  New,  original  work 
is  needed  and  should  be  adapted  to  the  Greek  stand 
point  and  peculiarities.  Graded  work  is  needed. 
Maps,  charts,  illustrations,  lantern  slides,  will  all 
be  something  new  for  the  Greeks  in  this  line  and 
would  attract  much  attention., 

English  might  be  introduced  to  good  advantage 
as  children  would  be  more  at  home  in  it.  Thus 
Americanization  would  be  combined  with  religious 
work. 

Beligious  songs  and  hymns  in  modern  Greek, 
should  be  introduced.  One  of  the  greatest  needs  of 
the  Greek  lies  in  this  line.  Sunday  schools  would 
be  the  best  place  to  begin  to  improve  it. 

Byzantine  music  is  used  in  the  church  services  and 
all  the  hymns  and  prayers  are  in  ancient  Greek. 
Eeligious  instruction  and  devotion  should  be  in  the 
language  the  people  understand.  Of  course  this 
would  not  mean  excluding  all  the  fine  spiritual  songs 
already  familiar  to  the  people,  though  in  ancient 
style.  Some  of  these  fine  ancient  Greek  hymns  have 
been  translated  into  English. 

Sunday  school  teachers  are  needed.  In  addition 
to  the  priests,  spiritual  and  religiously  inclined  men 
and  women,  competent  to  teach,  should  volunteer 
and  help.  They  should  be  "mighty  in  Scriptures," 
and  experienced  in  modern  Sunday  school  methods. 

Teachers  can  use  with  much  profit  the  Sunday 
school  publications,  commentaries,  and  Bible  dic 
tionaries  in  English,  as  they  will  be  very  likely  peo 
ple  familiar  with  English. 

The  whole  work  should  be  with  the  sanction  (and 
possibly  supervision)  of  the  Greek  church  authori 
ties.  This  would  assure  the  people  of  the  unsec- 
tarian  character  of  the  work. 

The  Greek  Sunday  school  in  America  might  serve 
as  a  model  for  the  rest  of  the  Greek  world,  as  the 
need  is  universal. 


150  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

4. — Preaching:  I  believe  prominent  Protestant 
preachers  and  evangelists  would  be  welcome  in 
Greek  pulpits,  at  least  occasionally.  Special  meet 
ings  might  be  arranged  where  prominent  men  might 
speak.  Such  a  work  would  inspire  both  the  clergy 
and  the  laity. 

5. — Conferences  of  the  priests  and  other  leaders  in 
Greek  commwities:  Owing  to  distance  and  matters 
of  expenses  and  also  for  lack  of  organization,  there 
has  never  been  any  attempt  to  bring  the  leaders  to 
gether  for  religious  conferences.  Political  and  pa 
triotic  conferences  have  taken  place  at  times.  A 
meeting  of  all  the  prominent  Greek  leaders,  to  dis 
cuss  the  urgent  religious  need  and  question,  would 
give  a  splendid  opportunity  to  hear  some  of  the  out 
standing  religious  leaders  in  America.  The  whole 
movement  should  be  pervaded  with  an  atmosphere  of 
devotion,  spiritual  vision  and  unsectarian  Christian 
fellowship. 

Such  a  conference  might  serve  as  a  model  and 
stimulus  to  the  whole  Greek  church  in  the  world,  for 
it  would  be  unique.  Meetings  of  the  higher  clergy 
for  discussion  of  ecclesiastical  and  dogmatic  mat 
ters,  have  taken  place,  but  no  conference  of  the  type 
mentioned  above  is  in  existence  in  the  Greek  church. 
Bishops  need  it ;  priests  need  it ;  theological  students, 
and  all  the  people  need  it.  Large  crowds  gather  at 
festivals,  monasteries,  and  shrines.  A  great  meet 
ing  for  this  purpose  would  be  epoch  making. 

6. — Social  centers:  To  counteract  the  coffee-houses 
and  the  gambling  centers,  social  centers  should  be 
opened  in  all  the  Greek  communities  and  colonies. 
Various  features  in  settlement  work,  institutional 
churches,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  clubs,  might  be  selected 
and  adapted  to  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  Greeks  with 
doubtless  very  good  results.  What  is  good  in  the 
coffee-house  might  be  retained,  and  American  in 
door  games  introduced.  In  order  to  keep  the  young 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA  151 

from  evil  influences  they  should  be  provided  with 
wholesome  and  innocent  amusement.  Men  without 
homes,  should  find  a  place  where  they  would  feel  at 
home,  refreshed  and  cheered  up. 

Such  centers  should  have  employment  bureaus, 
and  lists  of  furnished  rooms  and  apartments  and 
other  facilities  to  help  the  immigrants  when  they 
first  arrive. 

Such  social  centers  might  attend  to  the  needs  of 
the  sick  and  the  poor  also.  Applications  often  come 
to  the  Greek  Belief  Committee,  who  find  it  difficult 
to  assist  the  applicants,  as  the  committee's  own  ob 
ject  is  to  help  the  refugees  and  orphans,  victims  of 
the  late  war,  and  there  is  no  organization  in  exis 
tence  to  which  such  applications  could  be  referred. 

Most  of  the  above  suggestions  are  applicable  to 
all  the  Greeks  including  the  Protestants.  As  re 
gards  the  social  centers  and  Sunday  school  work  in 
particular,  they  could  all  cooperate.  But  some  spe 
cial  provision  should  be  made  for  the  Protestants  in 
certain  respects. 

7. — Greek  Protestants:  The  existing  stations 
should  be  strengthened  and  made  models  to  social 
and  community  centers  among  the  Greeks  in  general. 
Sunday  schools,  and  Young  People's  Societies,  might 
easily  be  developed  among  them  as  they  have  already 
beginnings  of  such  work. 

The  Protestants  can  not  go  back  to  the  old  church 
but  they  desire  to  worship  &°d  according  to  the  dic 
tates  of  their  conscience,  and  wish  to  bring  up  their 
children  in  accordance  with  that  conviction.  Their 
work,  as  in  the  old  country,  would  serve  as  a  stimu 
lus  to  the  wider  work  of  the  Greek  churches  in 
America. 

Greek  evangelists. — As  Greek  Protestants  are  scat 
tered  in  various  states  and  many  receive  no  church 
ministrations,  it  would  be  an  excellent  thing  if  one 
or  two  evangelists  could  visit  the  principal  centers 


152  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

and  take  care  of  them.  He  could  start  evangelistic 
work  in  those  centers  and  thus  have  a  nucleus  to 
strengthen  the  Greek  evangelical  work. 

8. — Above  everything  else  the  whole  country  in 
cluding  the  Greeks  needs  men  of  God,  filled  with  the 
Spirit  to  proclaim  messages  from  above,  to  set  forth 
fearlessly  and  with  vigor  the  eternal  truth  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God;  men  of  the  type  of  Isaiah  and 
other  prophets  who  heard  voices  from  the  center  of 
things  and  proclaimed  them  courageously  to  their 
generation.  Unless  such  voices  are  heard  the  coun 
try  is  in  danger  of  falling  into  the  thraldom  of  ma 
terialism,  worshiping  luxury,  and  material  enjoy 
ment.  Happily  such  voices  are  not  scarce.  Would 
that  they  would  resound  louder  and  in  wider  circles. 


Appendix  I 

GREEK  NEWSPAPERS  IN  THE  UNITED 

STATES 

Atlantis,  Daily  and  Monthly,  203  W.  25th  St.,  N.Y.C. 
National  Herald,  Daily  and  Monthly,  146  W.  26th  St., 

N.Y.C. 

The  Loyal,  Weekly,  160  E.  72nd  St.,  N.Y.C. 
California,  Weekly,  340  3d  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Prometheus,  Weekly,  725  Harrison  St.,  San  Fran 
cisco,  Cal. 

Greek  Newspaper,  Tarpon  Springs,  Fla. 
Greek  Star,  130  N.  Wells  St.,  Chicago,  111. 
Independent,  610  Blue  Island  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 
New  Era,  Illustrated  Semi-monthly,  600  Blue  Island 

Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 

Saloniki,  Weekly,  748  Blue  Island  Ave.,  Chicago,  111. 
Demonios,  Weekly,  55  Andrew  St.,  Lynn,  Mass. 
People,  Weekly,  62  Pleasant  St.,  Lynn,  Mass. 
Progress,  Weekly,  1034  Dime  Bank  Bldg.,  Detroit, 

Mich. 
Campana,  Humorous  Bi- Weekly,  54  W.  28th  St., 

New  York  City. 
Evzonos,  Weekly,  134  W.  2nd  St.  S.,  Salt  Lake  City, 

Utah. 
Light,  Weekly,  16  S.  Fourth  Work  St.,  Salt  Lake 

City,  Utah. 

Religious  Echo,  Monthly,  159  Oak  St.,  Chicago,  111. 
The  Liberal  Bulletin,  Weekly,  133  E.  35th  St.,  New 

York  City. 

Lacedaemon,  Weekly,  251  E.  31st  St.,  New  York  City. 
National  Renaissance.  Monthly,  125  State  St..  Brook- 

lyn,  N.Y. 

153 


154  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Greek  Telegraph,  Daily,  709  Folsom  St.,  San  Fran 
cisco,  Cal. 

Greek  Daily,  Daily,  768  S.  Halstead  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

Aletheia,  Monthly,  311  Market  St.,  Lowell,  Mass. 

Angeliaforos  or  (Messenger),  Weekly,  311  Market 
St.,  Lowell,  Mass. 

Telegraplios,  Weekly,  515  Market  St.,  Lowell,  Mass. 

Keravnos,  Drummer  St.,  Lowell,  Mass. 

Eagle,  Weekly,  267  Pine  St.,  Manchester,  N.H. 

Ergatis,  Weekly,  61  Pine  St.,  Manchester,  N.H. 

Elpis  (Hope),  Monthly,  4747  Paulina  St.,  Chicago, 

Ecclesiastical  Keryx  (Herald),  Weekly,  140  E.  72nd 

St.,  New  York  City. 
The  New  World,  Weekly,  436  4th  Ave.,  Pittsburgh, 

Pa. 


Appendix  II 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BOOKS  ON  GKEEKS  IN  GENEEAL,  AND  THE  VARIOUS  TOPICS 
TOUCHED  UPON  IN  THIS  STUDY 

The  Orient  and  Greece,  BOTSFOED,  Macmillan,  1902. 
Greek  Art  and  National  Life,  SMITH,  Scribner,  1914. 
Social  Life  of  Greece,  MAHAFFY,  Macmillan,  1902. 
Destruction  of  the  Greek  Empire,  PEAES,  Longmans, 

1903. 
Greek  War  for  Independence,  PHILLIPPS,  Scribner, 

1897. 
Christian  Greece,  BIKELAS  (Translation),  Gardiner, 

London,  1890. 
Greek   and  Eastern   Churches,  ADENEY,    Scribner, 

1908. 
Study  of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Church,  LACEY,  Gor- 

ham,  1912. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  [155 

Study  in  Social  Heredity  as  illustrated  in  Greek 

People,  LACEY. 
Neighbors,  LACEY,  Department  of  Missions,  P.  E. 

Church,  1920. 

Foreigners  or  Friends,  BUKGESS. 
Greek   Lands    and   Letters,   ALLHTSON,   Houghton, 

1909. 
Greece  and  the  Aegean  Islands,  MAEDEN,  Houghton, 

1907. 

Aegean  Days,  J.  J.  MANISTATT,  Murray,  London,  1911. 
Vacation  Days   in   Greece,  BICHAEDSON,    Scribner, 

1904. 
Greek  Life  in  Town  and  Country,  W.  MILLEB,  George 

Newnes,  London,  1915. 
Modern  Greece,  JEBB,  Macmillan,  1901. 
Greece,  Her  Progress  and  Present  Position,  A.  B. 

BANDABE,  Putnam,  1867. 

New  Greece,  SEEGEANT,  Fisher  Unwin,  London,  1897. 
Greece  of  XX  Century,  MAETIN,  London,  1913. 
Athens,  the  Violet  Crowned,  WHITING,  Little,  Brown 

&  Co.,  1913. 

The  Balkans,  SLOANE,  Meth.  Book  Concern,  1914. 
Hellas   and   the  Balkan   Wars,   CASSAVETTI,   Dodd, 

Mead,  1914. 

The  War  in  Europe,  A.  B.  HAET,  Appleton,  1914. 
With  the  Greeks  in  Thessaly,  BOSE,  L.  C.  Page  &  Co,, 

1898. 

The  Balkan  Wars,  SCHUBMAN,  Princeton  Press,  1914. 
When  I  was  a  Boy  in  Greece,  DEMETEIOS,  Lathrop, 

Leo  Shephard,  1913. 
Greece  of  the  Hellenes,  GABNETT,  Pittman,  London, 

1914. 

Letter  from  Greece,  J.  NAVEOCOEDATO,  Seeker,  Lon 
don,  1914. 

Greek  Immigration,  FAIBCHILD,  Yale  Press,  1912. 
Greeks  in  America,  BUEGESS,  Sherman,  French  &  Co., 

1913. 
On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  STEHSTEB,  Bevell,  1906. 


156  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Life  Immovable,  COSTES  PALAMAS  (Translation  by  A. 

E.  Phoutrides). 
The  Byzantine  Empire,  the  Rearguard  of  Europe, 

E.  A.  TWORD,  Harvard  Press,  1920. 
The  Greeks  of  To-day,  TUCKERMAN,  Putnam  Sons, 

London,  1872. 
Helladian  Vistas,  DON.  D.  QUINN,  Yellow  Springs, 

O.,  1920. 
Tales  from  a  Greek  Island,  DRAGOTJMIS,  Houghton, 

Boston,  1910. 

In  Argolis,  GEORGE  HORTON. 
Modern  Athens,  GEORGE  HORTON. 
Isles  and  Shrines  of  Greece,  S.  J.  BARROWS. 
Student's  History  of  the  Greek  Church,  A.  H.  HORE. 
The  Organization  of  the  Orthodox  Eastern  Churches, 

MARGARET  D  AMPLER. 

Service  Book  of  the  Greco-Russian  Church,  Trans 
lated  by  Isabel  Hapgood,  Houghton,  Mifflin. 
The  Catechism  of  the  Orthodox  Eastern  Church, 

IGNATIUS  MOSCHAKES. 

Catechism  of  Christian  Doctrine,  X.  MOSCHOU. 
Hindrance    and   Progress    in    the    Modern    Greek 

Church,  CONST.  CALLINICOS. 
The  Church  and  the  Eastern  Empire,  H.  F.  TOZER, 

"Epochs  of  Church  History." 
Hymns  of  the  Greek  Church,  JOHN  BROWNLIE. 
Christian  Americanization,  CHARLES  A.  BROOKS,  Mis 
sionary  Education  Movement,  N.Y.,  1919. 
Leadership  of  New  America,  ARCHIBALD  McCLURE, 

George  H.  Doran,  N.Y.,  1916. 
Immigrant  Forces,  WILLIAM  P.  SHRIVER,  Missionary 

Education  Movement,  New  York,  1913. 
Races  and  Immigrants  in  America,  J.  R.  COMMONS, 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1916. 
The  Races  of  Europe,  E.  A.  GROSVENOR,  The  National 

Geographic  Magazine,  Dec.  1918. 
Dictionary  of  Races  or  People^  1911. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  157 

The  People  of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Churches,  New 
York. 

United  States  Religious  Census  Report,  1906. 

The  Unity  of  the  Greek  Race,  E.  M.  BUKKOWS. 

Greeks  and  To-morrow,  Z.  FERRIMAN,  American  Hel 
lenic  Society. 

Hellenism  in  Asia  Minor,  K.  DICTERICH,  American 
Hellenic  Society. 

Persecution  of  the  Greeks  in  Turkey  since  the  begin 
ning  of  the  European  War,  CARROLL  N.  BROWN, 
American  Hellenic  Society. 

Memorandum  presented  by  the  Greek  Members  of 
the  Turkish  Parliament  to  the  American  Com 
mission  on  Mandates  in  Turkey,  American  Hel 
lenic  Society. 

An  Ethnological  Map  of  the  starting  of  Hellenism  in 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  and  Asia  Minor,  GEORGE 
SOTEEIADES,  E.  Stamford,  Lon.  1918. 

The  Greeks  in  Smyrna,  London,  1920. 

Persecution  of  the  Greeks  in  Turkey  before  the 
European  War,  EEV.  ALEX.  PAPADOPOULOS,  So 
ciety  of  Unredeemed  Greeks. 

Greeks  in  America,  SERAPHIM  CANOUTAS. 

Greece  before  the  Peace  Conference  of  1919,  ELETJ- 
THERIOS  VENIZELOS,  American  Hellenic  Society. 

Eleutherios  Venizelos,  S.  A.  XANTHAKI,  New  York, 
1916. 

The  Greeks  Triumphant,  A.  H.  TRAPMANN,  London, 
1915. 

Reports  of  the  Anglo-Hellenic  League,  London, 
1913-1921. 

Turkey,  Greece  and  the  Great  Powers,  GEORGE  E. 
ABBOTT,  London,  E.  Scott. 

Ambassador  Morgenthau's  Story,  HENRY  MORGEN- 
THAU,  Donbleday,  Page  &  Co.,  1918. 

Under  the  Turk  in  Constantinople,  GEORGE  E.  AB 
BOTT,  Macmillan  &  Co.,  1920. 


158  THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 

Turkey  and  Its  Peoples,  SIR  EDWIN  PEAES,  London, 
Methuen  &  Co. 

Fifty  Years  in  Constantinople  and  Recollections  of 
Robert  College,  GEORGE  WASHBURN,  Houghton, 
Mifflin  &  Co. 

Turkey  of  the  Ottomans;  Home  Life  in  Turkey; 
Balkan  Home  Life,  LUCY  M.  J.  GARNETT. 

Constantine  I  and  the  Greek  People,  PEYTON  HOB- 
BEN,  Century  Co.,  1920. 

Ex-King  Constantine  and  the  War,  GEORGE  M. 
MELAS,  London,  Hutchinson  &  Co. 

Eleutherios  Venizelos,  HERBERT  ADAMS  GIBBON. 

The  New  Map  of  Asia,  1900-1912,  HERBERT  ADAMS 
GIBBON,  Century  Co. 

Leavening  of  the  Levant,  JOSEPH  K.  GREENE,  The 
Pilgrim  Press,  Boston. 

History  of  the  Protestant  Missions  in  the  Near  East, 
JULIAN  EICHTER. 

Annual  Reports  of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  and  Missionary  Herald. 

The  Near  East  Crossroads  of  the  World,  WM.  H. 
HALL,  Interchurch  Movement,  with  good  bibli 
ography. 

The  Cradle  of  the  War,  H.  CHARLES  WOODS,  1918, 
Boston,  Brown  &  Co. 

Lowell  Institute  Lectures. 

Turkey  a  World  Problem  of  To-day,  TALCOTT  WIL 
LIAMS,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co. 


INDEX 


Agriculture,  34;  American  ma 
chines,  35. 

Americanization,  86,  110,  112, 
113,  114,  144,  146,  149. 

Anglican  Church,  61. 

Appendices,  153. 

Balkan  League,  24. 
Banks,  31,  83. 
Books,    109. 

Coffee  houses,  46,  47,  84,  88,  92, 

103,    115,    146,    150. 
Constantine — Field  Marshal,  23; 

King,    25;    break    with    Veni- 

zelos,  25;   overthrown    (1917), 

26;   restored,  27. 
Constantinople,  fall  of,  17. 

Dairying,  35. 

Dark  Ages  of  Greece,  61. 

Divorce,  91. 

Dowries,  48. 

Eastern  Orthodox  Church  (See 
Greek  Orthodox ) . 

Economic  conditions  abroad,  38; 
in  U.  S.,  79. 

Education:  Greek  fondness  for, 
41;  need  of,  145-147;  Ameri 
can  schools,  44;  advanced, 
schools,  44;  French  schools, 
44;  girls,  42;  Greeks  in  public 
schools,  97-101,  107;  Greeks  in 
schools  in  Turkey,  43 ;  Greek 
schools  in  Turkey  and  Asia, 
4)2-44 ;  religious  instruction, 
43;  parochial  schools,  108. 

Emigration,  30. 

Emigration  from  U.  S.,  77;  rea 
sons  for,  77. 

English   language,  144-147. 

Evangelical  Church  in  Greece,  64. 

Extermination  of  Greeks  by 
Turks,  22. 

Family  life,  47,  49,  91. 
Filioque,  57.  ' 


exports  and  imports,  31,  32; 
prosperity,  37;  revenue  and 
expenditure,  37;  roads,  35. 

Greek  Colonies,  119;  communi 
ties,  118;  diet,  36;  good  will 
to  U.  S.,  96,  97;  industries, 
33;  life  simple,  36;  loyalty 
during  Great  War,  115;  pa 
triotism,  50;  restaurants,  81; 
thrift,  86;  traits  good,  96; 
evil,  96. 

Greek    Evangelical   Alliance,    65. 

Greek  Evangelists  needed,  151. 

Greek  press    (see  Newspapers). 

Greek  Protestants,  70,  71,  130, 
144,  151;  worldly,  130. 

Greek  Puritans,  59. 

Greek  Relief  Committee,  115, 
116. 

Greek  Societies,  102-107;  Pan- 
Hellenic  Union,  105;  Pan- 
Epirotic  Union,  106;  benevo 
lent,  115-117;  constructive, 
102. 

Greeks  in  business,  80-84;  rela 
tion  to  other  races,  94;  racial 
intermarriage,  95;  in  Ameri 
can  universities,  98-100. 

Greek  Orthodox  Church,  54-59; 
attendance,  124 ;  communion, 
126;  doctrinal  standards,  55; 
fast  days,  125;  influence  of 
Passover,  130;  organization, 
54;  patriarchate,  54;  posture 
in  prayer,  126;  Sacraments, 
56;  supervision,  118;  State 
Church,  55,  61 ;  value  of 
ritual,  130;  worldliness,  125. 

Greek  Orthodox  Church  in  U.  S., 
118-132;  and  Greek  politics, 
120-12*2. 

Greek  Orthodox  priests,  122; 
dress,  124;  salaries,  123. 

Greek  Unity,    19-21. 

4 

Helicon,  99. 

Hellenism  spread  by  Romans,  17. 

Hellas,  origin,  15. 


Greece,  ancient  and  modern,  16;       Image  controversy,  58. 

159 


160 


THE  GREEKS  IN  AMERICA 


Immigration  (Greek)  to  U.  S., 
38;  causes  of,  38;  early,  40  j 
later,  better  class,  40;  dis 
tribution,  75;  3  per  cent  law, 
41;  married  and  single,  76; 
future  of,  40. 

Industries,   33,   34. 

Julian  Calendar,  126. 

Kalopothakes,  M.D.,  63. 
King,  Jonas,  63. 

Language,  51;  demotic,  52; 
purist,  52. 

Leadership,  need  and  sources  of, 
in  Turkey,  53,  54;  in  America, 
111;  personnel,  111;  trained 
in  U.  S.,  139. 

Literature:  books,  137;  news 
papers,  137;  tracts,  137,  138; 
new  needed,  138,  147. 

Lucaris,  Cyril,  60. 

Marriage,  95;  intermarriage,  95. 
Megali    (great  idea),  21. 
Meletios,  Archbishop,  58    66,  71, 

119-121,   122,   142. 
Military    revolution   of    Ghoudi, 

23. 

Military  service  in  Turkey,  39. 
Minerals,  35. 
Misunderstandings  corrected,  116, 

117. 

Moral  Standards,  92-93. 
Morals:  drink,  49,  90;  gambling, 

46,  89;   sex  morality,  48;   un- 

truthfulness,  49. 

Navigation,  33,   83. 

Newspapers:  abroad,  46;  in 
U.  S.,  109,  110;  services  of, 
110;  list  of,  153,  154. 

Neighborhood   Life,   92. 

New   Testament  translation,   70. 

Papacy,  pretensions  of,  57,  58. 
Peasants,  40. 
Plymouth  Brethren,  64. 
Protestant        Missions        among 

Greeks  abroad,   62;    in  U.   S., 

133,   135. 
Protestantism  in  Turkey,  65. 


Recreation,  46;  athletics,  46; 
games,  46;  theaters,  47. 

Religious  break-up,  forms  of, 
128;  classification  in  Turkey, 
67. 

Religious  realignments,  129;  ap 
proach,  132. 

Roads,  35. 

Sabbath  observance,   104,   125. 

Separated   churches,   57. 

Sevres,  treaty  of,  21. 

Social  conditions  abroad,  41;  in 
U.  S.,  88;  housing  in  Greece 
in  towns,  45;  in  interior,  45; 
housing  in  U.  S.,  85;  sanita 
tion,  45;  recreation,  46. 

Social   life,  picnics,  90. 

Social  centers  needed,  150. 

Socialism,  50. 

Societies:  abroad,  46;  in  U.  S., 
102-107. 

Sunday   schools,   148-149. 

Theaters,   8,  47. 

Training  schools,  142. 

Turkish  oppression,  17;  mas 
sacre  of  Greek  Christian,  17; 
Chios,  18;  program  of  exter 
mination,  22. 

Unrest,  small,  87. 

Venizelos,  23,  24,  25,  70;  dis 
missed  by  Constantine,  26;  at 
Paris  and  San  Remo,  26,  27; 
defeated  by  plebiscite,  27; 
causes  of  defeat,  28;  anathe 
matized,  120. 

Venizelist  party,  26. 

Wages  in  Greece,  36;   in  U.  S., 

86. 

War  for  independence,  18. 
War  with  Turkey,  1897,  20. 
Wars,    Balkan,    21;     First,    25; 

Second,  25. 

War  with  Kemalists,  1920,  29. 
World  War,  21,  25;  and  Greece, 

27;  influence  on  Morals,  48. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.,  12,  117,  141,  150. 
Y.  W.  C.  A.,  114,  117. 


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